One of my children (it would be unfair to give a name) has
tried every trick in the book to get out of handing in
homework. Actually, they've all gone through a phase of
doing that, so much for my brilliant parenting. Don't kids
realise that teachers have heard every excuse and no longer
believe any of them?
Over the past few weeks I have heard all sorts of excuses
from my clients:
It was Easter (al the snacks are chocolate not like the
healthy nuts and seeds we have at Christmas).
It snowed and I couldn't exercise (some allowance here -
the weather has been weird. But the snow melts very quickly
and what do you do the rest of the week?)
It snowed and I didn't feel like it. (Strange logic here -
snow = winter = comfort food)
I forgot (forgot to diet? Forgot that when you have one bit
of the cake you eat the lot? Forgot you have 60lbs to lose?)
I've been busy. (Look, you're going to be busy the rest of
your life. And you're going to eat the rest of your life.
So eat sensible stuff. Otherwise you'll be too ill or too
dead to be busy)
I was away with the family. (Family get togethers are
difficult - it's so easy to overeat. But if you stick to
the right food groups and the right quantities you can do
it. Have one celebratory meal; don't over eat the whole way
through the weekend.)
A sensible eating plan isn't technically difficult. Lean
meat or fish, veg and salads, a little fruit. Any food that
looks as if it grew on a tree or in the ground or grazed in
a field or stream. You don't have to count calories or fat
grams, weigh or measure foods and it does allow the odd
celebratory meal or comfort fest.
But you do have to be disciplined and apply some common
sense to your eating habits on a day to day basis. It is
the consistent behaviour in your diet that makes the
difference. Consistently eating well, you'll get away with
the odd lapse. Consistently loosening your waistband,
slumping on the sofa and troughing out when you don't need
to will end in misery.
It's also important to identify why you are eating the
food. Is it to meet your physical needs (hunger) or are you
using it to deal with your emotions? If you eat when you
are bored, sad, lonely, angry, irritated or all of the
above you will be trying to feed your emotional hunger. You
may even feel your emotions in your stomach and mistake
that for physical hunger!
So ask the question before you eat - "If I eat now, what am
I feeding, my body or my emotions?" If you don't deal with
these feelings you'll have to use incredible willpower to
stay on a diet. Look at your emotional eating patterns,
decide now to be consistent in your eating habits, take one
day at a time and consistently shed the pounds!
Happy eating!
----------------------------------------------------
Liz Copeland is a Nutrition Coach. She shows people who
find healthy eating difficult how to change their beliefs
and behaviours around food so they can eat well, look good
and feel great. Find her "Live Your Best Life" guide and
the newsletter No More Rabbit Food - weight loss tips for
people who love food at
http://www.tranzformations.co.uk/signup.php
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