Tuesday Tip: Do you deserve that dessert? š°
One of the important habits to crack when trying to lose weight is eating for reasons not related to hunger. Itās that inner voice that tells you that you ādeserveā that dessert, chocolate, glass of wine, or take away. Perhaps you’ve had a really busy day, or youāve achieved some milestone, or some other reason, and so you deserve to reward yourself with food. It’s emotional eating – both positive and negative and is a massive factor in long term weight maintenance. You are ārewardingā yourself with behaviour which actually makes you feel worse! So how do you stop it?
# 1 Stop thinking of food as something that has to be earned. Food keeps you alive and functioning, itās essential and you can eat as much or as little as you want, whenever you want – you donāt need to earn or deserve it. You do however need to be ok with the consequences (e.g. if you eat loads of junk food maybe you wonāt lose weight). Weāre all guilty of it – I often hear myself thinking Iāve ‘earned’ this chocolate – so start reconsidering this approach.
#2 Ask yourself instead – how can I give myself what I really want? How else could you feel rewarded without reaching for that slice of cake? What would be a more effective way to relieve the stress of a busy day than nose diving into a tub of ice cream? How else could you spend that āme timeā rather than with a glass of wine? Life is full of ups and downs and you donāt need a special reason to do something that makes you feel better.
So here are some ideas to reward yourself that donāt involve food: take a nap, play your favourite music, do your nails, read a book, do some adult colouring, have a bath, take a walk without your phone with you, have a little dance in your kitchen, call a friend, spend time with your pet, etc
So the next time you find yourself justifying your food or drink choice because you deserve it .. stop and think… and see if thereās another way to reward yourself and break that habit.
Happy Tuesday š¤xx
Every Step Fitness 