Strong will not necessary [weight loss wellness]

 

How many times did you decide not to order the french fries, or the dessert,  and you end up having it all? 

How often do you wonder why in the world did you eat so much? AGAIN?

You may feel disappointed with yourself, disappointed with your lack of willpower.  The disappointment MAY help motivate you to make changes. But does it? And are the changes effective and long-lasting?

What emotional eaters have to go thru – looks like a battlefield to a person that has no issues with emotional eating. But hey, the battle can be and will be won!

What I want to propose is an arsenal of tools that makes strong will / willpower, virtually unnecessary!

1. Knowledge. (check out also this blog/ video here) 
2. Freedom from addictive foods. (think: uncontrollable cravings for bad foods)
3. Rules for eating unhealthy foods. 
4. Change in how you see your body. 
5. Planning and scheduling.
6. Awareness (body sensations, feelings, thoughts) 
7. Environment preparation.
8. Thinking simply.

1. KNOWLEDGE

Know what you eat. I cannot imagine trying to achieve anything health-related and not looking into nutrition. Fact: the information can be confusing, and at this point, we don’t know whom to trust. But this doesn’t release us from the responsibility to know.  Some people heal with the right food, lose weight with the right food, and thrive eating the right food. So can we.  And that’s not a diet. That’s the traditional food. Knowledge eliminates the need for  a strong will because when you know what you eat, when you know how the fake foods impact the body, you think twice. Still some people will keep eating the wrong foods, which means to me they either don’t value their body so they abuse it, or they didn’t assimilate the knowledge.

2. FREEDOM FROM FOOD ADDICTION

Knowledge gets us right into the hot topic of addictive foods that make us fat. The foods that make us fat ARE the foods we WANT TO EAT WHEN we feel bad. They make us emotional eaters. And they cause us to feel horrible about ourselves. ( It’s not you. It’s the candy bar.) You can break free from the addictive foods gradually… like getting off some medications. The withdrawal symptoms can make you think crazy thoughts (thoughts of an addicted person), but it’s temporary. KNOWING how the addictive foods, containing sugar, HFCS, vegetable fats (PUFA) and flour, impact the body will help you commit to breaking free from them. The next paragraphs will contribute too. Committing to freedom from additive fakefood eliminates the need for a strong will. 

3. YOUR PERSONAL RULES FOR EATING THE UNHEALTHY FOODS

You may not be able to imagine life without certain fattening foods. (this shall pass too). The idea of not having pastries again –  makes you feel panic. But those who are free from the addiction – they don’t even want to want to eat it. Why? Because after a break, you take a bite, and you  immediately feel your body rejecting it. So rule 1: if you want bad food – make it home. From the best ingredients (after you gained knowledge #1) and you stocked your kitchen with healthy ingredients. And don’t make a lot of it. 

If you can’t make it yourself and you happen to be in the orbit of the foods you used to crave, set yourself a rule #2: you will slow down, get present, and take only a bite. Or three. Max.  And yes, it is possible to eat just one corn chip. And no, I don’t have a sad life LOL 

The rules set ahead of time eliminate the need for strong will especially if you are good at keeping promises made to yourself. And you do because you are worth it. And because you change the relationship with your body.

4. CHANGE HOW YOU SEE YOUR BODY

Most of us mistreat our bodies for decades. We think what the body should do, what is should look like etc., but we don’t give it what it needs to thrive. How can you see your body in a way that helps you eat healthy foods? That helps to stop throwing into it mindlessly substances that damage its health? 

We receive our bodies when we come to this world, we have no clue what’s happening in them and we don’t bother to read the manual. None of us has the kind of intelligence that would grasp the complexity of chemical processes that happen every second inside. And yet the body runs itself keeping everything in balance at all cost, running smoothly trillions of chemical processes every second. The body has such incredible intelligence that it’s impossible NOT TO see it as an absolute miracle. The “temple” spiritual texts write about. You were gifted an irreplaceable and unique miracle for your time on earth. When you see your body as a temple, as a living miracle, with its own superintelligence – you treat it with reverence. And you see it as worthy of the investment of healthy foods. That eliminates the need for a strong will; instead you treat your miraculous body well, out of self respect. 

5. PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

Scheduling your  meals replaces the need for a strong will.  When you know you eat at 1 pm and 6 pm, eating at other times is just weird. And since you eliminated sugar and flour – you are not even hungry. 

6. AWARENESS OF BODY SENSATIONS

Speaking of hungry, awareness of body sensations eliminates the need for willpower: when you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satiated (in a comfortable way, not to the point you cannot move) you don’t need to think about eating more or resisting a cake. You are simply not hungry. Why eat then? When it  becomes the new normal – overeating is not an option. Seems so simple and yet so hard? When you apply all of the simple habits they come together effortlessly. 

7. PREPARE THE ENVIRONMENT

At some stage of getting out of emotional eating we are trying to keep certain foods out of the house. So many times I thought “If there were cookies at home now I’d eat them!” But there were none. No snacks. No quick instant option. Just lettuce and bacon. Celery And chicken, and eggs. No foods to eat when you get bored. It’s uncomfortable but we can get through this! It’s only a sensation of craving and we are not dying. Do you feel deprived when you don’t have anything but healthy food at home? It’s not true deprivation. It’s just an illusion. Preparing your environment eliminates the need for having a strong will. Oh no, I forgot about the food delivery services… Uninstalling a food delivery app may cause weight loss. 

8. THINKING SIMPLY

You know how funny the mind is. Especially around addictive foods: the thoughts are totally entertaining: and so simple. “I am hungry, I think. I haven’t eaten in three hours and the popcorn smell so good, one time won’t hurt me. Nobody is looking so I can get a second portion.” 

So I think it’s important to talk to the brain about the solutions, also in a very simple way. Present the cold FACTS in a very simple way. Think back, what did you eat that caused you to gain weight? On the last page of my food journal I have written for myself: what made me fat: the panettone made me fat, the popcorn made me fat, the sandwich made me fat, the ice cream made me fat. The years of overeating made me fat. The mindless eating of three chocolates in one sitting made me fat, the 10 slices of bread made me fat. 

Thinking simply eliminates the need for strong will because next time I see panettone, tiramisu, cake, popcorn – I will think: this makes me fat!  Just cold facts. 

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If you struggle with losing weight but you really want to and you are ready: schedule your free consultation. Using coaching and hypnotherapy tools I can help you make this journey possible this time. 

It’s really not that complicated.