When Others Want You to Eat

      You’ve been making a daily plan and following it most of the time. Then your partner or friend brings you pizza or another favorite food (homemade ice cream for me) that isn’t on your eating plan for the day.  How can you make good choices when your environment is filled with temptations without “white-knuckling” or feeling deprived?

     When you can manage and change how you think about food, navigating the daily temptations in your life becomes much easier. When you eat foods you have not planned, are you “depriving” your body of health and energy? Are you shortening your life by eating according to the will of others?  What is important to you, and can you make a place for the foods you love while honoring your goals?

     When you have reasons to lose (or maintain) your weight that are very important, you can talk to yourself and/or journal until those reasons become so compelling that you can ignore temptations.  When food is no longer “sexy,” and having an energetic and vibrant body is your goal, very few foods will be challenging to say “no” to. 

     List your reasons for losing weight on your phone or someplace where you can review them frequently.  Develop a plan for the food pushers in your life so that you’re prepared when they urge you to eat unplanned food. Make a healthy body your priority and remind yourself that many foods are not "worth" eating when unplanned.

     When faced with unplanned food that you love, some options are:

1. Allowing yourself a taste of an unplanned food (if you're comfortable stopping with a small piece).

2. Saving the food for tomorrow when you can put it on your plan.

3. Deciding not to eat the food because it’s easy to obtain and you can have it anytime. 

     don’t recommend eating unplanned food frequently.  Not only will you probably feel guilty that you haven’t followed your plan, but weight gain will ultimately result from frequent poor choices. 

     If you’re at someone’s house and they offer you a favorite food and say they made it “especially for you,” how do you want to handle it? 

1. Do you want to eat a small portion (or a large portion)? 

2. Do you want to ask if you can take the food home (and then eat or not eat it at another time)?

3. Would you prefer to decline to eat the food and give an excuse that you’ve practiced beforehand? 

     No matter what you decide, thank them for thinking of you and making the special food.

     If you’re doing an activity with friends, and they want to get a snack afterward, but you’ve already eaten, options may be:

1. Declining to join them 

2. Joining them, but not eating 

3. Joining them but just getting something to drink

4. Joining them and ordering a “healthy” (or non-healthy) snack - even though you’re not hungry

5. Joining them in eating and then feeling bad when the scale isn’t moving, or it’s rising

     The more you practice handling these scenarios, the easier it will become.  It’s essential that you plan for get-togethers with friends when your favorite foods may be present.  The more you plan, the more likely you will reach your weight-loss goal and stay there.

      If you would like help in handling the frequent food challenges in your life so that you can lose weight “for the last time,” schedule a free, no-pressure, no-obligation consultation with me at: https://calendly.com/coachbarbarakatz/60min

     I can help you lose that weight permanently while you continue eating the foods you love and living the lifestyle you desire.