Handling Excuses Part 2

1. “Eating to enough is too little food.”  Many of you became accustomed to eating a certain amount when you were more active.  If you don’t adjust your food amounts to fit your current body and lifestyle, eating the previous amounts will cause weight gain.  When you eat less, you’ll also be able to buy and prepare less food and eventually save money.  If you want to eat less, you may need to eat more slowly and intentionally to be aware of your hunger and satiety signals. This awareness often takes time.  When you think about food as fuel for your body and treat your body well, then you will be less likely to overeat.

2. “I don’t want to be hungry later.”  Many of you confuse thirst with hunger.  You may also have gotten into the habit of eating or snacking at certain times of the day.  Unless food is unavailable and you won’t be able to eat, do a trial to see how long it takes you to become hungry after a meal.  Most people do not become hungry for 3-5 hours.  If you’re not sure you’re hungry, drink a glass of water, wait 10-15 minutes, and then assess your hunger.  In the United States, for most of us, hunger is not an emergency. Your body will “snack on” your fat if you're hungry.  If you eat in the middle of the night, after you've gone to sleep, I also recommend allowing yourself to experience not eating at that time.  I have a rule that I never eat after I’ve gone to bed (except I drink a little pickle juice if I wake up with leg cramps).  If you eat in the middle of the night, is it a habit, or are you eating for another reason?  Our bodies are made so that we should not have to eat after going to sleep.

3. “A little more won’t hurt.”  Along with this excuse, other common reasons are “I don’t weigh myself for another 3-5 days, I have several months until I need to fit into that dress, etc."  The more frequently you eat, “a little more,” after you’ve eaten enough, the more habitual it becomes to overeat the next time.  Get used to telling yourself, "I’ve eaten as much as I need, and that 'little more' is not needed for my body."  What can you say to yourself to help with overeating?

4. “I’m too tired, I’m stressed, I’ve had a hard day,” and “I deserve this.”  What you deserve is to treat your body well.  While that dopamine hit from food may briefly make you less tired, less stressed, or feel better, it’s better for you to sleep, relax without food, or do something not food related.  If you’re trying to lose or maintain weight, eating for emotional reasons will make you feel worse later when the numbers on the scale keep rising.

5. “I always snack when I watch TV, or a movie, etc." Snacking is often a habit; you probably eat more food than your body requires when you snack.  Sometimes it helps to sit in a different chair to break that habit.  You may have to be willing to be uncomfortable several times until your mind no longer associates watching TV or a movie with snacking.  It’s not difficult to break this habit - but you have to want to!

Next week's post will tackle several more excuses. Remember, if you'd like help getting your excuses under control, schedule a consultation with me at:

https://calendly.com/coachbarbarakatz/60min