We all have our favorite dishes or treats we love to indulge in. Especially after a long day, food for most people is part of the unwinding process.
Food can be a reward you give yourself for accomplishing tasks. The problem lies where you don’t know where to stop.
We say one scoop, one bite, once ounce, and next thing we know we’ve gone by the waist side. I can attest, on my best weeks when I happened to have a cheat day and indulge in a sugary dessert or snack.
Just one handful turns into an entire package. Just one bite could easily turn into devouring a whole package of treats without even batting an eye.
I would say without even thinking twice, but I usually do think twice as most of us do, but we go right ahead as if something or someone is in control of us.
These are my top tips on how to regain control when faced with tough but tasty decisions.
1. Eliminate Buyer’s Remorse
First and foremost, do not keep your enemy in your house. Yes, this includes any of your weaknesses.
I know this is harsh, but you’ll thank me later. If you know you really love double-stuffed Oreos, like if they’re on your kitchen counter and you can’t sleep at night until the last one is gone, just don’t do it.
Do not buy them when you already know what the outcome will be. You have to face enough temptation outside of your home with food stores on every corner and grocery stores packed with artificial, sugar-packed, chemically flavored food.
Let your home be your peace, where you’re not tormented by whether you should eat that ice cream jug that’s in your freezer or not.
Most likely if you lapse or slip up and buy something you know you shouldn’t have, your going to feel bad and not truly enjoy it because deep down you know you’re wrong and you know your health is more important. So keep the enemy out.
2. Stay Grounded
Do not use your kids or family as an excuse to keep junk food in your house or to indulge. I’m sure your kids have access to as much junk food as they desire outside your doors, set boundaries for your home.
It’s hard not to follow the crowd sometimes, especially when you personally know and live with the crowd, but don’t use your family as an excuse or a crutch.
3. Portion Control
This might be the number one trick to hit the books. Only have on your plate what you intend to eat, and always start with smaller portions.
When you’re starving, like ravishing hungry, you’re more likely to fill the plate to the brim, to the capacity, but this is not needed.
If you’re extremely hungry please, I said please take the time to drink a glass of water before you eat.
Or at least have a piece of fruit, an apple, a banana anything with high water content it will help fill you up and hopefully slow you down from eating so quickly.
Fill your plate with a small but reasonable portion of food. As you eat, pay attention to your body. Do not rebel against your body, but listen to it.
As your stomach gets full, stop eating. Check out this guide to keep weight off.
4. Buy the Best
Seek chemical-free, non gmo foods that are not riddled with salt and/or sugar.
A lot of times it’s not a particular snack that we like, it’s not the Oreos or the Dove chocolates or even the Chick-fil-a nuggets that we love specifically, but it’s the salt and sugar added at enormous amounts that truly gets our taste buds revved up.
Unfortunately, the more you eat, the more you want, especially sugar, it can be an addiction, and that’s what truly packs the pounds.
When you’re grocery shopping or eating at restaurants you need to be aware of the ingredients of your food, confirming that you know what’s exactly inside and how much sodium and sugar is presented within your choices.
Decreasing and eliminating both sugar and salt along with flavor-enhancing chemicals will give you the stamina and the strength to control your eating habits.
5. Open Your Mouth
Declare that your health is more important and essential than temporary satisfaction.
Every time you see a chicken wing, a crab leg, an Oreo (can you tell I like Oreos), or any other food that you promised yourself not to eat or promised yourself portion control, and are thinking about going back on your promise, think about how important your health is.
This tool is called delayed gratification. You’re giving up the joy of and excitement of your taste buds for the furtherance of your health in the future.
Whatever goal you have, whether it’s to lose weight, fight cardiovascular disease, get off your high blood pressure medication, fight diabetes, or just remain healthy.
Whatever your goal may be just remember when it gets tough and you feel like you’re losing self-control, remind yourself your health and your future are so much more important.
For you to be able to see your children succeed, and be able to engage with your grandchildren, it’s worth the sacrifice. You’re worth the sacrifice.
Until Next Time With Love,
