When it comes to eating what you say you will, you may have a shaky history. In the past, you have made promises to yourself. You've tried to follow eating a certain way. You've failed over and over and then given up. I'm guessing now there is major reluctance on your part to try this again.
It's a catch 22 because not planning what you eat -- eating what you want and when you want -- has landed you in overeating and binge land. If you struggle with binge eating, you likely suck at moderation; you seem to always take it too far.
I work hard at convincing clients who have been around the block a few times with diets to try the planning thing again. Planning ahead, if done correctly, aligns with the biology and neuroscience that supports your freedom from binge eating and food obsession. Done incorrectly, you land back on the diet rollercoaster. Here are my three best keys for planning and executing your plan successfully:
- Your plan must be at least 8/10 doable for you. This means making it robust, including all the food groups, and not making it restrictive in any way, shape or form. If your plan is not at least 8/10 doable, you will fail. Ask yourself: "Is my plan at least 8-9-10 doable?" Be honest. If it's not, go back to the drawing board.
- Execute your plan one meal at a time. Do not look at the whole day. Focus only on the meal in front of you. Enjoy that meal. When you are finished, thank yourself for following through, and remind yourself that the next meal is just around the corner.
- Live this journey one day at a time. Do not look past today. Tell yourself: "I'm going to just do this for today. Tomorrow I may do something different, but for today I'm going to follow through with what I planned." This is never forever, only for today.
- Troubleshoot instead of judging yourself. What worked? What didn't work? Get curious instead of letting your brain spiral into self judgement.
- Rinse and repeat.
Until next time,
