Pearl One
Whether we’re actively losing, preserving or holding our weight, we can all see the beauty and brilliance in creating a fall playbook. (These smaller playbooks are necessary as you continue to embed your smart eating habits.)
We’re nearing the end of September and now is the time to sit down with your journal and have a chat with your autumn “future-you.”
You might ask, which future-me? You decide. I might choose Thanksgiving future-me or December 1 future-me. It depends on how far out you want your focus to be. Years ago, I like to “chunk down” the season: So now I’ll write a Nov. 1 future-me, a Dec. 1 future-me and a Jan. 1 future-me. The plan is to ask yourself on such-and-such date, how do I want to feel and think when I first wake up?
Discovering future-you’s thoughts, wants and dreams will fuel your experience today and over the next coming weeks. It’s a motivating tool-on-steroids.
Let’s say that I choose Sunday, December 1 as my future-me. First, I put into place a “fall puzzle.” If you need a refresher on what a puzzle does for our long-term “why” check out this link.
Creating a seasonal puzzle to compliment our larger overarching puzzle is a great way to chunk-down the year. (Other ways to chunk-down include monthly, weekly or even daily puzzles all working in tandem with our larger overarching puzzle.)
Fall is a super fun time of year food-wise — and the food-pushers are on the prowl — which makes our trek more tricky but learning how to navigate the holidays is what living the Smart Eating Lifestyle is all about.
So, I pull out my journal and write answers from December 1-me’s perspective.
I ask December 1-me is: “why?” Why should I care about living the Smart Eating Lifestyle from mid-September to the first of December? ______________
I’m so happy that I _______________.
I’m blown away that I ______________.
No question, it was hard but I was able to ______________.
It may be small, but I’m thrilled that I _______________.
I want to thank you for _____________________.
And you made things work out beautifully.
The one thing I wish I’d told you ____________________.
If nobody else tells you that I’m super proud of you for ________________________.
The more we engage with active-planning the better we wield this superpower tool.
We’ve so got this. ♥
Pearl Two
Did you know that Starbucks started the pumpkin spice craze over 20 years ago with their pumpkin spice latte (PSL)? Did you also know that the grande PSL clocks in at 390 calories, 50 grams of sugar and 14 grams of fat? Yes, our beloved drink comes from the food-porn side of town. (For reference, their chocolate croissant is 300 calories.)
If you’ve ever had the high-octane PSL, it’s delish, but only because it’s packed in sugar, fat and calories.
So, that said, here’s how we make the skinnier (and more inexpensive) PSL version.
- To begin, don’t enter the locale until you first have a small, nutritious bite (eat-before-you-eat is always our first go-to).
- Then order a regular latte.
- Ask for one to two pumps only of the pumpkin spice syrup (forgoing their automatic four pumps).
- Rather than their 2% milk, request a milk alternative like almond, oat, or soymilk.
- Omit the whipped cream completely. You guys, Starbucks makes their recipe with heavy cream and four vanilla syrup pumps.
- Request “cold foam” which eliminates the sky high calories.
- Keep this “recipe” in your purse in case you one day find yourself in a Starbucks. The main takeaway about the PSL and likely all of their holiday drinks: watch out for the whipped cream and sugary flavored syrup pumps.
- And if you’re in the actively losing weight stage, research Starbuck’s menu online well before going into the store to order. ♥
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.
Default Sequence
- Situation (something very concrete) I got on the scale this morning and it’s up four pounds.
- Thought: THIS ISN’T WORKING!!
- Feeling: Rage, emotional self-abuse, sad.
- Action: tired of the whole thing. I overeat because what does it matter?
- Result: I return to the yo-yo dieting lifestyle.
You may need more than one bridge to shift to the new chosen thought.
Bridge Sequence
- Situation (something very concrete) I got on the scale this morning and it’s up four pounds.
- Chosen thought: I’m giving this “positive self-talk” thing a try. I can consider the idea that getting angry and abusing my self does nothing for my eating and weight situation.
- Feeling: Still angry, but I can see Wendy’s point.
- Action: I eat a bagel heavy on the cream cheese.
- Result: Having had a king’s breakfast, I eat a moderate princess lunch, have two snacks though the days and eat a tiny dinner at 6 p.m.
New Sequence
- Situation (something very concrete) I got on the scale this morning and it’s up four pounds.
- Chosen thought: For a flash, I felt like throwing the scale through the window, but within seconds I was feeling curious and thought, I know how to course-correct.
- Action: I’ve shifted from somewhat angrus about how my smart eating plan is going. I ask myself, which habit needs strengthening? Do I need to go to the store for “support food” (my favorite yogurt, fruit), or is something else causing a lot of stress? Do I have a solid plan to help me handle stress that’s not food-based.
- Result: (if I’m actively losing weight) I pull out my journal and begin to understand that it’s probably time for me to “hold” rather than actively lose. I then write about how I can better “hold” so that my body can get used to my new weight.
- Result (if I’m “holding” or preserving my weight loss): I pull out my journal and ask myself which habits should I strengthen? Which food should I buy? And finally, how am I falling into an old pattern of losing weight only to gain it back again? Do I have automatic assumptions about preserving a loss? In hte past, what was your experience with the old “maintenance?” Write about needing to “unlearn” old maintenance thoughts.
Adding that look at how engaged you are as you continue to preserve your loss. You’re engaging with the situation versus eating through it. ♥
Pearl Four
Books love us and want us to be happy.
Once again, every book I skim-read fell short this week. So, the two-book series that I’m highly recommending these two novels one that spent eons on the NYT bestseller list and the second heavily anticpated:
Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Tóibín has written “one of the most unforgettable characters in contemporary literature” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
Long Island: a Novel. Tóibín is simply one of the world’s best living literary writers.” —The Boston Globe.
I’ve been told these are “don’t miss” books. ♥
Pearl Five
Let the master thought “I will succeed” dominate your thinking.” ♥
David J. Schwartz
Now is a perfect time to tell your family please no food gifts for the coming holidays. If you’ve enjoyed this post, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.
Have a wonderful week!
♥, Wendy
You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.
Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!!
I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥
