Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving is past (maybe the leftovers aren't though). Start a Controlled Eating PlanH for CHRISTMAS today!

Here's one way to do it courtesy of the EATING LESS Newsletter from September 2010, link at the site for all archived newsletters. This one is targeted at buffets, but the idea is sound for all major eating occasions. Practice beforehand. Have a plan:

QUESTION TIME
Q & A

THE PROBLEM: 
It's only September and already I'm worried about Christmas and I really hope you can help. The reason is that I've worked really hard this year to lose the weight I gained last Christmas and I'm afraid it's just all going to go back on again this year. I'm fairly safe at home, it's the buffets at the parties are what really do me in. It's on my mind already and I'm thinking about going away somewhere to avoid it all but that's not something I'm going to want to do every year.

MY ANSWER:
I think it's great that you've brought this up so far ahead because this means you've got lots of time to practice, to get into training for The Buffet Table Challenge. I wonder if you've ever used the technique of 'Plans' described in Chapter 6 of EATING LESS, because that's what will help you most.
      What you do to make a Plan is simply to decide what and how much you intend to eat, preferably just before you start eating. Try to picture it, and as you make that Plan, keep in mind how you will expect to feel after you've finished eating that amount, for the rest of the evening and even the following morning. So it's something like, "do I want to eat so much that I feel bloated, uncomfortably full and miserable, or do I want to eat less and feel energised, happy and in control?" So you make your Plan with that - what sort of experience you intend to create afterward - in mind.
      Assuming you've made a moderate Plan, the real challenge will be keeping to it, because when you've finished eating a significant amount smaller than usual, you will almost certainly feel an addictive desire to eat more. Keeping to your Plan will depend on your management of that feeling of desire.
      The more you can use any opportunity to practice making and keeping Plans over the next three months, the less anxious you'll be feeling and the more control you'll have when the parties begin.

3 comments:

Kimberly said...

Holiday food is the best. It is warm and comforting on a whole other level. Yet when you stop and think about it, do we really need it? In my own mind I have come to the place where I look at it, think it looks really good and then I remember "oh yeah, it is only one meal." I don't have to freak about an imagined obligation to put food in my mouth. What do I want more? To be thin and healthy or to stuff my face with high carb, high fat food? For me it is all about perspective. Having a plan helps to keep things in perspective. Great post PD.

Beth said...

She's good, eh?

Excellent post. It's all about owning the choices.

Anne H said...

From a practical - tactical - didactical standpoint -
or as they say in Nursing "What Are You Going To Do About It?"

I always eat a little before I go to a party - that way I won't be tempted to go off plan.... and sometimes I take my own LoCarb dish.... so I know there will be something there for me. About the buffet? It can be a real test....
But it never (ok - seldom) tastes as good as we think it will!
Hardly evah! Just another "ego" trick!