Falling Off the Resolution Wagon

So it's 5 days into the new year. Did you make a new years resolution to eat right? I did.

Did you already fall off the wagon?
A

Do You Want to get back on?

There is quite a bit of information online about how to lose weight, and even how to stick with it. So I won't go into details here. Besides, even though I have read about nutrition since I stopped eating red meat as a teenager about 40 years ago, I am not a nutritionist. If you need information on how to eat healthy, you can find programs online such as my friend JoAnn Newton's Nutritional e-cleanse and many many more.

I am lucky, because I have been eating healthy meals for decades. But I have this little problem with a huge sweet tooth. So I frequently resolve to quit sweets. Not just at New Year's. And I keep falling off that wagon. So I decided to look for ways to stay on it.

Staying on the Resolution Wagon

For me, staying with my nutritional resolutions includes knowing where my "weaknesses" are. I know that I need to ignore the call of the delicious chocolate chip cookies at Oliver's Market. They are the only store-bought cookies I have ever encountered that taste as good as my own. Real butter, plenty of brown sugar and dark chocolate chips. Heaven in a cookie.

So even though they remind me of childhood treats, and they taste fabulous, I know that I have a choice every time I crave one, every time I shop there, every time I walk past them.

If you ever tried to diet or to clean up your eating act, you probably know all too well the internal argument that goes on. Like a parent telling e a child no, I immediately rebel.

For me, it's something like this:
8:00 AM "Today I will eat healthy."
By 8:15 AM, the dialogue begins:
"I want one of those cookies. They are SO good!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You know it might interrupt your sleep."
"I don't care. I'll eat healthy starting tomorrow."
And I watch myself walk over to the cookie counter (sometimes drive to the store first!) and get a cookie."
I usually enjoy it thoroughly while eating it. Then regret it the next time I step on the scale or see my reflection in the mirror. Or sometimes, 10 minutes later.

Sound familiar?

Choosing - What Is a Treat, Really?

But why do I argue with myself? Am I going to let this happen every day for the rest of my life? Or will choose to be in control of my mind rather than let it run rampant like a 3 year old with no discipline?

I can succumb to my deeply-ingrained habit of reaching for one of those amazing cookies. I can even savor it as slowly as possible. And then, as often as not, several minutes later my sensitive stomach will remind me that it wasn't such a good idea. And maybe I get a little hyper from the sugar. So is it really a treat then? Is the series of reactions to that confection really worth it? Are the extra pounds really worth it? Am I really giving myself a treat when I think about it? Am I really depriving myself if I choose to not eat that cookie today?

The Key to Staying with the Resoultion

For me, the key is finding a place of peace between these 2 warring sides. I learned a long time ago not to let the argument gain steam. Instead, like Chance in the movie Being There, I watch. Either I

watch myself buy the cookie, or I watch myself walk past them.

I remember that I used to reach for candy bars more often than those cookies, and that I trained myself to walk past them after I discovered that I am pre-diabetic. It helped that I found something I like better: Cacao powder in my morning protein drink. So I am not deprived of chocolate. I actually like the cacao better than chocolate. So if I can walk away from my favorite candy bar, I can certainly practice walking away from the cookies too. The candy now seems smaller, less bright, less appealing. And I don't even like the taste any more. So this year I am practicing doing the same with the cookies: making them smaller, duller, less interesting than before.

How About You?

What is your favorite mental trick to avoid your trigger foods?