Think-Feel-Eat Episode #31: What I Already Know

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #31: What I Already Know

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Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I present ten things that I know for sure! (And I encourage you to consider what you already know for sure as well!)

We know more than we think we know!

This is what I tell my sixty kindergarten through twelfth grade students every day! It is only in realizing what we know that we can see how that information can help us. And so it is with weight management, health, fitness….all of it.

In this episode, I discuss ten things that I know for sure—and elaborate on how these things are helping me reach my goals.

Here are a few of them!

1) I know for sure that when I have sugar more than a couple times a week, my eating is way harder to control.

2) I know for sure that when I fast under seventeen hours, I have too many eating hours.

3) I know for sure that I can’t beat myself up down to my goal weight. (See Think Feel Eat #2 and #3 for details on this one!)

4) I know for sure that my Thoughts cause my Feelings….and my Actions are based on those Feelings. Bottom line: Control my Thoughts, control my Actions! (See Think-Feel-Eat #1 for details on this one!) 

5) I know for sure that I can’t outrun a fork. It takes unbelievable amounts of exercise to counteract overeating.

6) I know for sure that I only lose weight by eating less food than my body size currently needs/eating the amount of food that is closer to my goal weight. Period. How I make this happen is still somewhat unknown as I get closer to goal (the exact protocol that makes this happen consistently).

Let’s know what we already know…and use it. Let’s learn more so that we can reach our goals!

Join the Drop 8 Pounds by Christmas challenge today—we start on October 1st!

a. Join at the blog to get all of the email updates and training

b. Join the FB group!

Watch the short info video here

Find all of my episodes, outlines, and articles for my two weekly broadcasts:

(1) Weight Loss Lifestyle broadcast (formerly Donna’s Intermittent Fasting Broadcast)

(2) Think-Feel-Eat broadcast 

Sign up for my free webinar: https://intermittentfastingwebinar.com

Think Feel Eat Outline 31 What I Already Know

A. Things I Already Know for Sure!

  1. I know for sure that when I have sugar more than a couple times a week, my eating is way harder to control.
  2. I know for sure that when I fast under seventeen hours, I have too many eating hours.
  3. I know for sure that I can’t beat myself up down to my goal weight. (See Think Feel Eat #2 and #3 for details on this one!)
  4. I know for sure that my Thoughts cause my Feelings….and my Actions are based on those Feelings. Bottom line: Control my Thoughts, control my Actions! (See Think-Feel-Eat #1 for details on this one!)
  5. I know for sure that I can’t outrun a fork. It takes unbelievable amounts of exercise to counteract overeating.
  6. I know for sure that I only lose weight by eating less food than my body size currently needs/eating the amount of food that is closer to my goal weight. Period. How I make this happen is still somewhat unknown as I get closer to goal (the exact protocol that makes this happen consistently).
  7. I know for sure that 80/20 eating only works when it is REAL and measured (not estimated). (See Think-Feel-Eat #15 for more on this!)
  8. I know for sure what it takes to maintain my 100 pound loss from the last decade. I’ve been doing it for months—it isn’t easy, but I know how to do it!
  9. I know for sure that certain foods trigger me to overeat. I know what these are.
  10. I know for sure that when I plan my food ahead of time each day, I am more likely to stay on it!

B. NEW! Free Weight Loss Challenge Group! Starting October 1st!

1. Drop 8 Pounds by Christmas!

2. Continual trainings!

a. Weekly formal videos sent via email

b. Live Q and A Sessions in the FB group

c. Pop up video trainings in the FB group

d. Weight loss coaching

e. Tools, tricks, and more!

f. Help with emotional eating

g. Thought work- Think-Feel-Eat!

h. Accountability threads in the FB group

3. Join today—we start on October 1st!

a. Join at the blog to get all of the email updates and trainings

b. Join the FB group!

4. IF Course for October! Starts October 6th! Intermittentfastingcourse.com

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #30: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire Part II (of II)

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #30: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire Part II (of II)

by

Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I present Part II (of II) of Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire with an emphasis this week on Over-Desire then looking at solutions for BOTH.

I’m so excited to bring you more OVER info! I dig in this week with a review of the two OVERS—starting with Over-Hunger (true stomach hunger, ghrelin, regulating hunger during the fast, affects satiation or “satedness” (fullness).

Then I review Over-Desire (desiring a certain food or food type oftentimes without hunger, desiring certain foods even when we are full, created by giving in to cravings frequently, also influenced by food memories).

Next. I move into dopamine spikes (See also TFE 7, 8, and 9 for teaching, charts, and Urge Map!). I teach dopamine as a motivation/habit chemical and use a helpful chart to teach dopamine from OVER behaviors and foods vs. dopamine release from simple pleasures. Of course, I help you see how to change your dopamine spikes from high calorie, seductive foods too!

Lastly, I bring Over-Hunger and Over-Desire together, showing the behaviors and tricks that can actually influence both at the same time! (More self-improvement bang for your effort-buck!) These include the 3 F’s, intermittent fasting, sleep, higher protein, reducing highly-palatable foods, and watching for vanishing calorie density foods.

Find all of my episodes, outlines, and articles for my two weekly broadcasts:

(1)  Weight Loss Lifestyle broadcast (formerly Donna’s Intermittent Fasting Broadcast)

(2)  Think-Feel-Eat broadcast 

Sign up for my free webinar: https://intermittentfastingwebinar.com

Think Feel Eat 30: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire (Part II of II)

A. Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire Review

1. Over-hunger is when we have true stomach hunger—the “growling ghrelin gremlins” are telling us our food is low. (See later.)

a. At end of our fast

b. When we eat a small amount when we open our eating window and then have hunger soon after.

c. When we haven’t regulated hunger during the fast yet.

d. When we haven’t figured out our best fasting time and we can’t sleep at night because of hunger.

2. Over-desire is when we desire food, often without hunger and usually certain types of food.

a. Has nothing to do with hunger.

b. Can eat these desired foods even if we are full.

c. Usually created by giving in to cravings so frequently or by not controlling seductive foods.

d. Not as affected by fasting as hunger is.

3. Each one affects a different part

a. Over-hunger is affected by satiation—when we are not sated or satiated (i.e. full), we can have more hunger

b. Over-desire is affected by satisfaction—when we are not satisfied with our food choices, we have more desire for certain foods

4. Similarities

a. They both cause the same final outcome: over-eating resulting in weight gain.

b. They can both be controlled quite a bit through strategic actions. (See The Perfect Storm of Weight Loss!)

 B. Over-Desire

1. General “tricks”

a. While some tricks work for both over-hunger and over-desire, over-desire is based on food tastes, memories, hyper-palatability, dopamine spikes, etc.—not stomach space.

b. Over-hunger tricks like filling stomach with 3 F’s, drinking water, fasting so you don’t have to contend with hunger very long each day, etc., do not affect over-desire so much.

c. You know it’s over-desire and not over-hunger when it is food or food-type specific—just filling your stomach with anything won’t work.

2. Dopamine spikes

a. Craving teaching explains a lot (TFE 7, TFE 8, and TFE 9—charts and free Urge Map included!!)

b. Associated with hyper-palatable, seductive foods

1. Different foods and food types for different people (six main ones—sugar, flour, fat, salt, protein, meaty flavors like soy/bone broth, etc.)

2. Can also be textures

3. Can also be memories

3. Understand how dopamine works (dopamine spike chart)

a. Not a reward as much as a motivation/habit

b. Can happen before you ever take the first bite—just the thought of that food, that memory, that result, that situation—this is what makes it motivating/habitual

c. Hyper-addictive foods and activities release high amounts of dopamine

d. Lower, simple pleasures release low amounts of dopamine

e. Nutrition from food releases dopamine in the stomach—but later than the spikes from the brain that are more intense

f. Simple pleasures equal simple rewards

4. Tips to change your dopamine spikes from high calorie, seductive foods

a. Spread out the instances of them

b. Reduce the number of seductive elements in your treats—animal crackers instead of Oreos; sugar free frozen yogurt instead of full fat, sugary ice cream, simple nacho at home instead of loaded from restaurant—these will save calories but they will also decrease the dopamine spikes since fewer of the six elements will be combined

c. Watch for yours!!! Dove milk chocolate, sugared cereal in milk, homemade baked goods, cream filled donuts, pastries….I know mine!

d. Plan your simple pleasures! (Delights of the Day)—research shows that looking forward to something can bring the same or nearly the same reward as the action itself; you will have that simple pleasure to turn to.

C. Things That Affect Over-Hunger AND Over-Desire

1. 3 F’s—fluffy, fibrous, fluidy

a. Fill up stomach for hunger

b. Usually real, less dopamine spiking

2. Fasting

a. Only have hunger 5-8 hours a day

b. Lowers insulin/hear leptin better so fewer cravings

3. Sleep

a. Lowers hunger

b. Keeps cravings lower/you don’t have so many inhibitions/giving in to hyper-palatable foods

4. Eating higher protein (.8 to 1 gram per pound of body weight)

a. Stays in stomach/most satiating macros

b. Pushes out other foods when you try to get the right amount of protein

c. Real food for both hunger and cravings/over-desire

5. Vanishing Calorie Density

a. Food scientists create foods to melt in your mouth and essentially signal the brain that you’re not eating as much as you really are

b. These food disappear in your mouth and you often feel like you didn’t eat anything at all

c. Takes soooo much of these foods to satiate/sate you; takes more and more to get the reward from the food

d. Evaluate which foods are vanishing calorie density foods for you

D. Next Steps

1. Intermittent Fasting Course—first Monday of each month; use code SAVE20 to get $20 off—see you in September!

2. Private online coaching

3. Perfect Storm of Weight Loss

 

 

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #29: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire Part I (of II)

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #29: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire Part I (of II)

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Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I present the first of two episodes about Over-Hunger and Over-Desire.

Most of us who have battled with excess weight our entire lives understand that eating too much leads to being overweight. What we often do not fully understand is what causes us to overeat. (I’ve described many aspects of what causes us to overeat in TFE episodes found at donnareish.com/perfectstorm)

There are two over-arching causes of over-eating: over-hunger and over-desire. We often get the two confused, and we often think they are one in the same.

In this two part series, I explain the differences and similarities of the two—and how we can take some steps to counteract both of them.

In this episode, I focus primarily on over-hunger (after a brief introduction to both of them).

Over-hunger is any time we experience hunger that causes us to exceed the amount of food our bodies need at our current weight. (Or when we can’t control our hunger while we are attempting to eat at a lower weight/goal weight.)

Hunger is controlled, in large part, by a hormone called ghrelin. I describe what ghrelin is, how is released, its part in our hunger (and somewhat in satiety), and more.

Then I move into ways we can counteract hunger. There is a long list of these, but one of these is Intermittent Fasting. I describe how we can actually train hunger through a daily time of no food at all and a shorter time in which we eat.

Join me next week as we look at over-desire—and then we learn the things that affect both of these (since there are some overlapping elements).

Think Feel Eat #29: Over-Hunger vs. Over-Desire (I of II)

I.  Over-hunger vs Over-desire

 A. Differences

1. Over-hunger is when we have true stomach hunger—the “growling ghrelin gremlins” are telling us our food is low. (See later.)

a. At end of our fast

b. When we eat a small amount when we open our eating window and then have hunger soon after.

c. When we haven’t regulated hunger during the fast yet.

d. When we haven’t figured out our best fasting time and we can’t sleep at night because of hunger.

2. Over-desire is when we desire food, often without hunger and usually certain types of food.

a. Has nothing to do with hunger.

b. Can eat these desired foods even if we are full.

c. Usually created by giving in to cravings so frequently or by not controlling seductive foods.

d. Not as affected by fasting as hunger is.

3.  Each one affects a different part

a. Over-hunger is affected by satiation—when we are not sated or satiated (i.e. full), we can have more hunger

b. Over-desire is affected by satisfaction—when we are not satisfied with our food choices, we have more desire for certain foods

B. Similarities

1. They both cause the same final outcome: over-eating resulting in weight gain.

2. They can both be controlled quite a bit through strategic actions. (See The Perfect Storm of Weight Loss!)

II. Over-Hunger

A. Growling Ghrelin Gremlins

1. What is Ghrelin?

a. Hormone produced in/released from the gut (and also in smaller amounts from the pancreas and brain)

b. It controls appetite!

c. When stomach is empty, ghrelin is released to tell you that you are hungry

d. Stomach growling is associated with ghrelin

e. Also has roles in growth hormones, insulin secretion, GI motility, blood pressure, and more

2. When is it released?

a. Low blood sugar, low weight (i.e. needing to gain weight), and fasting (or long time since last meal) all cause ghrelin to be released

b. Stomach distension—or food in the stomach—can cause ghrelin to NOT be released

c. Sometimes ghrelin overrides stomach distension!

d. Rises before meals and falls after meals

e. Very sensitive to food intake, so it is increased with dieting

f. Also released in response to stress—which is why people overeat when stressed (and can become a vicious cycle that is hard to stop)

g. Released at typical meal times—clock hunger

h. Released about three hours after last meal (waves of hunger)

i. Not released more and more as time goes on

j. Ghrelin is low in the mornings, so fasting will likely be easier in the mornings than the evenings

B. How can we control hunger?

1. Water—fill that stomach up!

2. Sparkling water/carbonation—bubbles trick ghrelin into thinking we are putting food in it (some have opposite effect with sparkling water)

3. Stomach distensibility—as we shrink our stomach, it will be smaller and less ghrelin will be released

4. Fill stomach with the recommended 6 cups of veggies at or near the beginning of eating window! 3 F’s—fluidy, fluffy, and fibrous

5. Don’t overly restrict calories (increases ghrelin automatically)

6. Eat more fiber (again, filling up the stomach)

7. Eat more protein—research shows it is a satiating macro, empties from stomach over longer period of time, and prolongs feelings of fullness

8. HIIT exercises help manage it

9. Exercise fasted—shown to regulate appetite more than later in the day

10. Sleep—seriously, it helps all hormones level out! 7-9 hours is a good number to shoot for

11. Reduce or control stress (mediation, prayer, journaling, yoga)

12. Eat more real foods—feedback to ghrelin doesn’t work as well with processed foods

13. Since it comes in waves that last about ten minutes, you can time them and watch them disappear with the time!

14. Fast!

i. Eventually, you will solve the hunger problem for at least 15-18 hours a day!

ii. You won’t need to use willpower for hunger!

15. Over-hunger and macro-nutrients+

i. Protein most satiating macronutrient

ii. Fat next to the most

iii. Carbs least—but quick energy

 C. Steps

1. Intermittent Fasting Course—first Monday of each month; use code SAVE20 to get $20 off– see you in September!

2. Private online coaching

3. Perfect Storm of Weight Loss

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #28: Eight Fasting Experts on What Breaks a Fast

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #28: Eight Fasting Experts on What Breaks a Fast

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Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I present some much-needed information on what “breaks the fast”—from eight fasting experts I studied, watched, and listened to.

In lieu of an outline for this episode, I have created a chart that shows what the eight fasting experts that I have studied say about breaking the fast. This is a special episode that I did for my free private FB group and decided it was so needed that I put it into my Think-Feel-Eat episodes for you!

The chart is extremely helpful and thorough (I hope you will print it and study it and follow along with the episode!). But here are some super important points about this topic:

1) All 8 experts say that at the very least an oil (even if it is just CBD oil, which has calories and is a fat) can be consumed, at least in small quantities, during the fasting time. (One says only CBD oil—no other oils?)

2) The research for “breaking the fast” is sketch at best. I have taught about this many places. (Here is one: https://donnareish.com/logical-fallacies-broadcast-54/ ) As a teacher and former high school debate coach, I can’t let this go unmentioned. We have to learn how to discern small, self-reported, short studies from more reliable and robust research! A study that says when sucralose is injected into a mouse’s stomach, this happens, can’t automatically be applied to a person drinking a sweetened drink. (And I do fast pretty clean myself!)

3) The best experts to listen to in this episode are the ones who tell what results you are after through fasting. Period. If you are after weight loss, different things interrupt the fast than if you are after cell rejuvenation/autophagy. It really isn’t accurate to even say “this breaks the fast” without saying “when you are going for…..”

I want so many good things for you! Intermittent fasting has changed our lives. I can’t imagine my husband 120 pounds bigger than he is today (how much he has lost) if I had told him that he couldn’t lose weight or wasn’t really fasting if he continued to drink a non-caloric, sweet-tasting drink during his fast. It breaks my heart that people are giving up on fasting because zealots in FB groups tell them they aren’t really fasting if they have this or that in their coffee! (This all has no bearing on me—diet drinks make me want to eat, and I don’t like coffee!) There are very few fasting experts who say black coffee, plain tea, and water only in the fasting window—surprisingly enough!

So listen and learn what different experts say about consuming drinks during the fast. Very eye opening!

(Don’t forget to get your chart here!)

Blessings!
Donna

P.S. Take my incremental, month-long fasting course to get your fasting on strong! We’ve been at it for 18 and 12 months each—and have lost a LOT of weight and feel great! Intermittentfastingcourse.com

Find all of my episodes, outlines, and articles for my two weekly broadcasts:

(1)  Weight Loss Lifestyle broadcast (formerly Donna’s Intermittent Fasting Broadcast) 

(2)  Think-Feel-Eat broadcast at

Sign up for my free webinar: https://intermittentfastingwebinar.com

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #27: Self-Sabotage III (of III)—More Practical Tips

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #27: Self-Sabotage III (of III)—More Practical Tips

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Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I present the final lessons on “self-sabotage”!

In #25, I taught the foundations of self-sabotage from the Think Feel Eat position—our thoughts, our feelings, terminology, and more. (Please start here!)

Last week (TFE 26) I started with several practical tips related to self-sabotage—stress management; purposeful, planned self-care; sleep; ideas for sitting with urges; planning food ahead of time; writing something you want to eat for tomorrow rather than in the moment; creating barriers to hyper-palatable foods; dealing with kids’ foods; and much more.
Today I continue with self-sabotage tips, more practical ways that we can stop ourselves from “knowingly or unknowingly obstructing our progress”!

I start with the “buy healthier foods” theory—the pros and cons of this, including the concept of choosing foods you truly like and will eat for the rest of your life (as opposed to “healthier foods” you don’t like. I recommend that you choose a protocol you can live with (see Pick a Protocol!) and have “your foods” (for 80% of the time) and “not your foods” (for the other, carefully planned 20%). I re-introduced my Helpful Foods List so that you can list the foods you like and will eat to get to your goal. Lots of tips in this section—having real meal foods on hand; using cooking methods that work for you and keep calories lower; utilizing convenience foods that are not super calorie dense; cooking simple foods; keeping grab and go foods on hand; and making your own food rules.

Next I move into reminding yourself daily why you are doing this. Write the same reason every day in a journal. That phrase/goal/wording needs to become a part of who you are. I discuss reasons that really keep you motivated.

I move back into food palatability, but not just Dr. Stephan Guyenet’s Six Seductive Craving Combinations (see eblast on August 10th!)….I move into other aspects of palatability that come into play with our “self-sabotage.” These include, but not are not limited to mouth-feel, texture, temperature, etc. I address the individuality of palatability and giving up—like what makes it hard for YOU to stop?

Finally, I discuss the benefits of simpler foods: not combining the six seductions so much, how to substitute for super palatable foods, the benefits of fewer ingredients and simpler cooking techniques, and more. AND….a new way to evaluate our foods—not looking at food as good and bad but rather as controllable and uncontrollable.

Find all of my episodes, outlines, and articles for my two weekly broadcasts:

(1)  Weight Loss Lifestyle broadcast (formerly Donna’s Intermittent Fasting Broadcast)

(2)  Think-Feel-Eat broadcast 

Sign up for my free webinar: https://intermittentfastingwebinar.com

 

 

Think Feel Eat 27 Self-Sabotage III (of III)—More Practical Tips

A. Fill home with healthy/healthier foods you like

1. Use the Helpful Food Lists document to start creating a master “these are my foods” list (See TFE 21!)

2. Don’t buy a bunch of healthy foods you don’t like or would seldom choose—for me, I have sprouted wheat bread, peanut butter, low sugar jelly, apples, watermelon, potatoes of all kinds, sugar free chocolate, Kodiak pancake mix, Halo Top ice cream, great salad ingredients (i.e. good meat and cheese), lower calorie soft tortillas I can use for pizzas or quesadillas—I don’t buy foods I don’t truly like

3. Have real meal foods on hand—cooking (even just microwave and air fryer cooking) is the best way to eat on protocol—buy convenience when you absolutely need it—the best choice of convenience you can find….but plan to bake potatoes in microwave, steam rice, stir fry veggies and meat, air fry grilled cheese…simple, simple, simple but as real as possible)

4. Be sure to have grab and go foods (for me, these are egg cups, cheese, apples, protein muffins I make and freeze, pb sandwich, bananas, lower calorie crackers, baked tortilla chips

5. Make your own food rules

B. Remind yourself daily why you are doing this

1. Write the same reason every day in your journal

2. Tell it to yourself after you have an “obstructive” thought—say it aloud if needed

3. Make sure it is a reason that really keeps you motivated (it’s okay if it is to wear sleeveless dresses—I know of someone who has that reason! Lol)

4. This is my size six life—catch a thought that gets you where you want to go! Forever!

C. Control your food palatability

1. I talked about the 6 Seductive Cravings in Motivating Monday’s eblast on August 10th

2. Research on food palatability

i. Dr. Stephan Guyenet’s The Hungry Brain

ii. One study tracked food intake and palability over seven days

1. People consumed about 44% more food during the more palatable meals than they did on the less palatable ones

3. More hyper-palatability thoughts

i. Energy density (M and M’s vs. apple)

ii. Mouthfeel

iii. Texture

iv. Temperature

v. Six seductions

4. What makes you want to overeat?

i. What makes it hard to stop?

ii. What makes you turn to the “screw it” thoughts?

iii. What sets you into binge mode?

5. Not just making us want to overeat for the enjoyment—hyper palatable foods make us need a lot more of them in order to feel satisfaction

D. Eat simpler foods

1. Not combining six seductions so much

2. Not bringing us back to the days that we ate nachos and sundaes and donuts all the time

3. Substitute something that has less palatability/simpler composition but still takes the place of the old food

4. Fewer ingredients/less extensive cooking methods/single or few ingredient foods (again lessening the chances of the six seductive craving combinations)

5. Bad/good and controllable/uncontrollable

E. Next Steps

1. Intermittent Fasting Course—first Monday of each month; use code SAVE20 to get $20 off—see you in September!

2. Private online coaching

3. Perfect Storm of Weight Loss

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #26: “Self-Sabotage”—Practical Tips (Part II of III)

Think-Feel-Eat Episode #26: “Self-Sabotage”—Practical Tips (Part II of III)

by

Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 220 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!).

In this episode, I bring you more information about “self-sabotage.” In the previous episode (TFE 25), I gave the “thinking and feeling” aspects of “self-sabotgage.” Now in this episode, I dig into practical tips for “self-sabotage.”

How can we avoid “shooting ourselves in the foot”? What can we do practically to help ourselves not go off and on our plan and then start again and again?

Of course, the teacher in me (language arts lady) had to do a quick review of episode 25—Pick-a-Protocol so you have a food protocol firmly in place (TFE 21—One BIG Decision to Make Ahead of Time); work on/prepare thoughts ahead of time so that you are ready with more helpful thoughts when the “quitting” or “giving in” thoughts come; plan your food each day (TFE 22—The Daily Decision to Make Ahead); and more “thought-related” topics.

Then we dug right into half of the practical tips (other half coming next week!). These include working on stress management AND with tools that are unrelated to food or alcohol. Use stress management, pre-planned self-care, and sleep to help cortisol levels stay low so that you won’t “stress quit.”

Next came some practical, “do these” tips for sitting with urges. We have to get away from relying on willpower and white knuckling our way through urges to quit or eat off plan and instead use in-the-moment techniques that work even when willpower is waning as the evening draws near. Some of these include counting backwards from ninety, setting a timer for ten minutes, journaling, writing what you want to eat in your plan for tomorrow rather than eating it today, and more.

Finally, I did it again—talked about Dr. Stephan Guyenet’s The Hungry Brain and how we have to create barriers to hyper-palatable foods. I gave several practical tips here while also cautioning against using the barrier method exclusively. (See Motivating Monday’s e-article August 10, 2020.)

Think Feel Eat Outline 26 Self-Sabotage Part II (of III)

A. Review from Episode 25: Ways to End Self-Sabotage (or Ways to End Giving Up!)

1. Have firm protocol in place so you know when you are going off and what that will look like (Use my Pick-a-Protocol Packet to determine what protocol you will most likely be successful on!) TFE Episodes: 16, 17, and 18

a. People who are successful at weight loss/maintenance aren’t perfect; they’re just on way more than they are off!

b. 80/20 works—it’s 70/30 or 60/40 that doesn’t work

c. When protocol is firmly in place, it is obvious “I’m going off for this wedding”—or “I’m staying on protocol completely even when we got out for dinner this week”

d. You don’t “fall off a wagon”—there will be no wagon to fall off of…this is your way of life 80% of the time…more often than not…how you live.

e. Call it what it is: little quits, giving up, giving in, choosing, deciding, going off plan….use the pronoun I…

2. Work on Thoughts ahead of time

a. What is that Thought right before you obstruct your progress?

 i. This won’t matter

ii. A bite won’t hurt

iii. I’ll start tomorrow

iv. I’ll start Monday

v. I’m not losing now anyway

vi. Doesn’t matter what I eat—you can lose weight eating anything (true….but can you STOP eating just anything?)

Get a Thought or two ready!

b.  New Thought

i. Every bite DOES matter

ii. I can choose to do something different tomorrow; today is already planned

iii. “This is my new/future size six life!” (or X weight life…or whatever your most motivating final goal is)

 2. Make decisions ahead of time with your “adult brain”—pre-frontal cortex

a. This keeps you from having to use willpower to so much (WLL 60 and WLL 61)

b. This allows you to plan the day ahead of time (Get your freebie journal sheet here!)

i. TFE 21: The One BIG Decision to Make Ahead of Time 

ii. TFE 22: The Daily Decision to Make for Weight Loss

c. This allows you to decide something different on another day. “There’s always tomorrow!” is a helpful thought when you have already decided ahead of time.

d. Plan foods for their satiation, caloric intake, etc.

e. Plan down to the time and number of times you will eat (3 minute exercise!)

 B. Practical Tips to Avoid “Self-Sabotage” (or obstructing your own progress)

 1. Work on stress management ahead of time and with tools unrelated to food

a.  Self-care is something you decide ahead of time—not in the moment

b.  Plan Delights of the Day for yourself to give yourself practical, fun, purposeful things to look forward to without involving food or alcohol

c.  Use breathing techniques, walks, novels, talking books, podcasts, favorite shows (without food), yoga, journaling, prayer, self-coaching, talking with a friend, games, etc. ALL PLANNED

d. Create your day to purposely reduce stress as stress raises cortisol, which causes cravings and potential weight loss disruption/increase fat storage

e. SLEEP! WLL 31

 2. Use a tip from Sitting With Urges (TFE #9)

a. Counting backwards from 90

b. Setting a timer for ten minutes, telling yourself you can have it if you still want it in ten minutes

c. Journaling instead of eating

d. Writing it on tomorrow’s plan right at that moment

 3. Create barriers to hyper-palatable foods

a. See Motivating Monday from August 10th for why JUST creating barriers doesn’t work on its own

b. Try not to have hyper-palatable foods

c. If kids need snacks, choose either things you don’t like or less enticing foods in general like graham crackers, saltines, etc. over pastries, cakes, cookies, etc.

d. When you do decide to have something seductive, you will have to drive to get it

e. Buy individual servings of snack type foods

f. More practical tips next week!

 C.  Next Steps

1. Intermittent Fasting Course—first Monday of each month; use code SAVE20 to get $20 off!

2. Private online coaching

3. Perfect Storm of Weight Loss

 

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