Are you already looking at joining another diet program next year? Maybe a diet you lost a few lbs on before, maybe trying a ‘new’ diet? Either way, you are probably thinking of dropping some weight after Christmas or getting into a new dress for the Christmas party.
The problem is that all the diets are the same concept, restrict what you can and can’t eat (if not the amounts) and do tedious exercise to shed weight. The doctor says it’s simply a case of eating less and moving more, if the doctor says it, it must be true right?
WRONG!
You are not the same as the women in the diet group on Facebook, you are not the same as the 20 other people sitting in group weigh in. So why would following the same strategy work for you?
It won’t.
And it won’t work for them, because they are different from everyone else in the room to. Weight-Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins and all the rest are designed for Jane Doe. Who only eats when she is hungry and is perfect and follows every rule. Heads up, she doesn’t exist. But that doesn’t stop doctors and slimming companies from treating all women like her.
If you are a comfort eater, the same feelings that drive you to eat, are going to be even stronger when you had a bad day and want pizza, and now you feel even worse, so you want pizza even more and you end up in a cycle that leaves you covered in crumbs from every Ryvita in the house and still ordering a dominoes – and feeling rubbish about that so let’s get the cookies too. The diet is actually contributing to your weight gain, making you feel crap about yourself and holding you back from your weight loss goals.
No amount of just substituting foods is going to work in this situation, because it isn’t hunger driving the decision and you are effectively telling yourself not to push the big red button, the shiny one, that looks like a Dominoes app.
None of this is your fault
However, a habitual eater, not driven by emotion and a need for fatty, starchy or sweet food, may find that one slice of rye bread with a little humous is enough to stop them charging through a pack of biscuits, but will struggle to eat only what they need at a buffet.
No amount of telling an addictive eater they can have only one biscuit with a cup of tea is going to make a bit of difference, the food is calling them from the moment they know where it is and once they pop, they can’t stop!
If you relate to these, please know, none of this is your fault. We are designed to find sugar more attractive as, in primitive times it was a source of energy, calories and was rare. When we find it, we are designed to want to eat it until it is gone. Add to that the addictive additives manufacturers put in our food and you have a combination scientists are proving is as addictive as cocaine!
Your parents may have told you that you couldn’t leave the table unless you ate everything in front of you, or when you hurt yourself or needed comfort, they gave you sweets. But you can overcome these challenges and unlearn the unhelpful beliefs.
With diets being designed for a Jane Doe that doesn’t exist (much like one size fits all leggings), how can you hack them to get the best out of your diet if they are your only option?
Well, while I have been quiet, I have been creating cheat sheets to help you no matter what your eating type (or if you’re a combination of the three). I’ve been taking some tips from the incredible Marisa Peer and have adapted her teaching into the following quiz to determine what kind of eater you are to make sure you get the information that is tailored to you.
You want to overcome your evening cravings, you want to be able to control yourself at the family get together – I can show you how. How you can overcome the emotions that lead you to unraveling a days worth of healthy eating in 5 minutes,. How to overcome the voice coming from the kids snack draw. How to have the body you want. It’s easy, only takes a few moments and is completely FREE.
Stop setting yourself up to fail and work with your eating style to start shedding weight now, not after Christmas, after all, you have got that party coming up!
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