How a Reframe Transforms Veering Off Course

Jelly beans, Junior Mints, little bite-sized Snickers. Loved, loved, loved. Today? Not interested, way too easy to shovel them in. So, nothankyou.

Holiday treats have been easy for years now to ignore, but back in the day I went overboard on Halloween candy, November and Christmas dishes and desserts, Easter cookies and — my favorite — birthday cake.

The Bare Bones Truth

Turns out, if you want to eat the gorgeous calories that everybody else is enjoying: congratulations you’re normal.

I can hear you saying, ” Great. I’m normal. Whatever.”

No, that’s not what I mean.

What I mean is that you need to feel in your cells, your nerves, your very mitochondria that we are built to want lots and lots of calories. You want to eat the whole pie? Good news, your mom gave birth to a human being.

This is terrible grammar, but creating a better relationship with ourselves rests on first acknowledging that our culture marinates us in food-on-steroids, and that we are entirely normal for wanting to fill our plates.

It’s vital to embrace what-is before attempting to create sweeping changes.

How I View Temptation

Here’s how I’ve kept 55 off for 15 years: Ninety five percent of the time you’ll find me crunching through salads, oatmeal bowls with apples and blueberries, and veggie stir fries with brown rice. About five percent of the time I’m eating something “fun” with my family.

I don’t tend to slip in the daytime when life is busy. If I’m slipping, I’m going down in the evening. (It’s important to know which time of day presents the most challenge to staying on a smart eating path.)

One Culprit Behind Slips

Highly intelligent people get bored easily. If you’re not taking care of your boredom needs, you’re attempting to engage with life by chowing fun food. (I’ll write about filling up for emotional reasons soon.)

My bet is that – like me – you tolerate “easy” even though easy equals boring.

You might have noticed, but creating an exciting life is a ton of work, but worth it. Journal about your tendency to keep life as safe and easy (and snoozy) as possible.

Write about why food is fun. Write about other things in life that you love. Write about how you’ll create fun without food. (I would shoot for ten examples on each. You’ll be surprised at the gems your brain produces.)

Overriding boredom is different for everyone. For me, it’s books too good to put down, or hikes with my dog. For a friend, it’s regular bike rides. One woman I know wants to take a drama class. Another to visit Italy when the travel-restrictions ease.

Pair my Aunt Bea article (pink box under the three photos) with creating a more exciting life for yourself and prepare to crush smart eating and weight loss. If you need me to send you another Aunt Bea, no problem! Email me Wendy@theInspiredEater.com.

How I Plan My Slips

When I know that slipping is likely in my future, I eat an apple or a banana with peanut butter in advance of the meal. In other words, I Eat Before I Eat so that I don’t overdo my slip-food.

Then it’s little cup time. The deal I’ve made with myself is: I can have a scoop of ice cream (or cake), but the fun food has to fit into my little cup.

Also, little cup does not do seconds ( it takes time to embed the habit of not having seconds, so don’t give up on developing this muscle and remember: be gentle with yourself).

A Cool Trick from the Sticks

Here’s a solid hack from the world of “naturally” thin peeps.

Say a naturally thin person wants birthday cake with the family. She will deliberately eat a very small portion of dinner so that she has “room” in her tum for cake (essentially, she has cake for dinner).

Ask her how she came up with such a smart tool and she’ll look at you blankly and say, “What tool? If I eat a large dinner then I won’t have room for cake. How is that a tool?”

Nobody told the naturally thin that their stomachs will stretch to accommodate the cake!

 Silly naturally thin people.

My Favorite Hack Ever.

I’m a tad embarrassed to confess that I head upstairs to read a (really) good book at 8 pm most evenings. I turn out the light by 9:30. (Because Atlanta is often roasting; I don’t waste the cool mornings.)

It’s immensely fortuitous that we have a two-story house and that I’m way too lazy to leave my cozy bed, and walk all the way downstairs (in the snow) to rummage through the kitchen. Once I’m in bed — teeth brushed — you won’t find me downstairs again until morning. And by then the cravings are gone.

How to Turn a Slip into a Win

Rather than trying to override our normal inclination to inhale fun food, learn to navigate how you deal with slip-food, keeping in mind that you will slip. It’s just part of losing weight and maintaining.

Next time you slip, do this: Turn your slip into a learning moment. Journal about your slip: what went right? What went wrong? What have you learned for tomorrow? If you were to teach this skill to a friend — learning from a slip — journal about what you would tell her.

How do you manage the urge to inhale?

♥, Wendy