When was the last time you lusted for an apple? Food-porn is designed to ensnare us.
Hello Thrivers!
I hope your long weekend was a good one. If you’re brand new to the blog read Aunt Bea and then begin here. Thrivers seem to really like this post too!!
Pearl One
One afternoon I found myself thinking, “it’s too quiet”, so I put on jazz and then went in search of something horrendous to eat.
Because – in my heart of hearts — I always will default into food-porn.
But just as I’m opening the wrong cupboards, I hear the piano’s tinkle, tinkle, tinkle and thought “people who listen to jazz do not eat inappropriately.”
My interest in junk-food evaporated immediately.
And after 18-years of preserving my loss, I can promise you that I want to eat inappropriately at least once a day. So, what I’ve learned: when I start to daydream about food-porn that’s when I go into damage-control mode and tell myself, “If you’re pining for junk food, you’re merely hungry for food/food.”
Because the diet-cartel has long pushed the notion that using their particular product means that we’ll never want junk food again. Ever!!
Total urban myth.
Of course we want to inhale made-to-be alluring, engineered junk-food. The companies’ business plan includes creating enticing “food.”
As you’ve likely heard, they’re paying scientists to increase the “mouth feel” of junk food. Every time you open a package of cookies, remember that companies are actively working against your best interest.
Of course, there are various times in the day when I can walk by pizza and not blink, but if I haven’t eaten I might inhale the pizza. So when pizza is in your midst and looking quite tasty, eat a small, but powerful food: apple with peanut butter, hummus on toast, scrambled eggs with cheese, pineapple poured over cottage cheese (my favorite) and so forth.
Try this challenge for yourself: wait until you start pining for a donut and then consciously eat a small meal. After you eat your small meal, ask yourself how do I feel towards the donut now?
Still want the donut? Grab a handful of nuts. I’ve read that nuts may be one of the most powerful strategies for metaphorically squirting the donut with ketchup. (Which I highly recommend doing for real. The brain sees you squirting ketchup up on treats and is immediately put on notice that you’re serious-beyond serious-now.)
I’ll say it again for emphasis: fantasizing about junk-food is nothing more than you’re hungry for real food. ♥
Pearl Two
This wisdom is rooted in James Clears’ the Atomic Habits.
Clear tells us that to embed a strong new habit, we need to make the new behavior: obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying.
Two of these laws, obvious and attractive, encourage us to make our environment work for us and not against. In our case we want to make it annoyingly difficult to get our hands on junk-food and insanely easy to eat smart-food. Keep your kitchen stocked in your favorite smart food and prepare as much in advance as you can: hard-boil eggs, cook your protein, have your favorite fruit on hand (especially in the spring a summer).
The more prepared you are, the more small wins you’ll have.
There shouldn’t be cheesecake or pizza in our kitchen in the first place, but if you live with others who require treats, ask that the ultra-processed food – what we’re now calling junk-food – live in the highest cupboard where you can’t see or reach it (even with a stool). Hide cold treats in a brown bag that’s pushed to the back of the bottom shelf to the back.
I used to say this in jest, but it’s totally true: one perk of getting older is that we forget the treats in our kitchen if they’re out of sight.
Clear’s third law is “easy.” When you want to make losing weight smoother, a little less rocky, consider putting these ideas into place:
- Stay satiated. Hunger is not your friend. I have a much easier time of dismissing ice cream if I’ve just had a bowl of cereal.
- Keep several book-desserts next to your bed in easy reach ready to support you at 8 p.m. each evening. Giving up evening eating is tough, but you can make it a tad easier by having a stack of book-desserts at the ready
Clear’s last law: “make it satisfying.” This one is difficult because food is our satisfaction, but say this to yourself every day: most of us in our food-wealthy world struggle mightily with staying out of the junk-food.
Ideas to make losing and preserving after 50 satisfying. As you lose, visit your favorite thrift stores and buy in your new size (yes, even if you’re not yet at your preferred weight. Wearing your former size of clothes probably isn’t the best idea. When you go down a size, pick up new clothes for yourself at your thrift store and you’ll signal your brain, “Hey! I am sooo serious about this” (your brain needs to see you engaging in strong actions).
Big wins (like clothes) aside, I like to focus on small wins to keep myself in the smart eating game. For example I play a game with myself that if I do a,b, and c, I’ll get a new nail polish color, I’ll give myself an hour in the day to just read, in the summer I’ll lay-out at our community pool as so forth.
Somebody said “normalize little wins” and I couldn’t agree more.
I’m working on a house project right now that if I complete it will score me a small bottle of my favorite perfume (huge for me because most of the money goes to the house, my sons or our sweet kitty).
When you’re ready to develop one new habit (more than one is being mean to yourself), keep in mind that my favorite study out of England concluded that it takes 66-days to embed a strong new habit. But amazing news, it’s only the first 16 days that are the hardest. ♥
Pearl Three
Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.
Old Sequence
- Situation (something concrete): I heard a man on the radio say that when his dog dies it will “destroy me.”
- Automatic thought: I’ve lost too much in my life; I can’t take losing Lily.”
- Feeling: Heartbroken.
- Action: Eats comfort food.
- Result: Gains weight.
In real life, this man may need to make a bridge between the “automatic” thought and the “chosen thought.”
New Sequence
- Situation (something concrete): I heard a man on the radio say that when his dog dies it will “destroy me.”
- Chosen thought: Of course, it’ll hard when she passes. I’ll be so very sad. But I can do this. Taking care of my heart about a difficult time to come is imperative. Instead of stacking my losses, I’m developing a new habit to stack my small “wins” with Lily (like: I have a great vet. Win! Lily loves to swim and I take her to a pool once a week. Win. It’s on my Lily-bucket-list to take her to the beach next month. Win!
- Feeling: A little more balanced, a little less frantic at the very notion.
- Action: play a lot and do a lot with Lily and I’ll keep a journal of all the fun things we do together that I’ll read one day for comfort.
- Result: She’s with me now and life is good. When the time comes, I’ll be okay. ♥
Our brains are always listening to us. Don’t say “destroy me” instead say “it’ll be rough, but I can do it.”
Pearl Four
Light summer fun books. I highly recommend all three:
1) Is This Anything? by the GOAT, Mr. Jerry Seinfeld.
2) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
3) The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. ♥
Pearl Five
Steve Harvey
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And just for some summer fun: send me pictures of your fur-kid and I’ll share the photo on here!
Make it a beautiful week!
♥, Wendy
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5 Comments
This is gold. Thank you!
Ugh…it does stink that the food porn daydreams never go away.
My number one tip for myself is not to buy the treats that I like even if my kids like them: if I buy ice cream cones, I will eventually cave in and probably not just eat one in one day but two! Balance and moderation is what I strive for.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.como
Way to stay in reality with yourself!! I often think that knowing what’s is or isn’t possible is so key.
Wendy
Always, always thank you, C!
Wendy
Oh I can relate to this. I’ve been craving a large chocolate bar for several weeks. I occasionally look at them in the aisle but something stops me buying one (I tend to want the huge sized bar!). But sometimes I do fall off the wagon – taramasalata and crisps- but as long as I revert to healthy eating the next day, it’s OK. Thanks for linking.