I received an email from a client the other day asking me,
“If you have had them, how do you handle emotional days ? I have had a few.. And I am most vulnerable at bad choices during these days. For me.. I have been having more here lately. Sometimes the choices are not as bad as others. Any suggestions?”
At first I laughed hysterically because I think I’m probably one of the most emotional people on this planet. I’m that person who thinks a twisted ankle is the end of an athletic career and I’m also that person who could watch YouTube videos of kittens being rescued from trees and just cry about it out of pure joy and restoration of my faith in human kind. So HA! IF I have emotional days… Please, I could be a walking advertisement for Kleenex…
It was ironic to get this question because the psychological issues that surround food were topics I had been thinking about in the recent days.
- Why is it so hard for some people to stick to a diet?
- Why do MOST people quit?
- Why it is easier for a doctor to prescribe medication when simple changes in diet and exercise could resolve SO MANY health issues??
While I don’t have clear cut answers for these questions, I think that the general answer is simply that results don’t come fast enough for people.
Long gone are the days of waiting…for ANYTHING! Hell, I can’t go 5 minutes without checking my cell phone, but when I think about it, what did I do when cell phones weren’t so common? We all remember “dial-up internet”, right? (I just aged myself for sure right there) Internet was this new amazing thing and now we want to throw our lap top the second we see the little sand timer icon. We no longer have to wait for every day things in our lives, so why should we have to wait for weight?
To answer the original question, though, I have emotional days ALL the time. Food is such a psychological issue that simply knowing that clean foods are good for you just isn’t enough to keep a person on the right path.
Even the most strong willed people have bad days and make poor choices. Sometimes, eating 3 cups of ice cream is necessary to experience a catharsis that is somewhat therapeutic for the heart and soul. But the truth of the matter is, it all comes down to how much you want to reach your goals.
What’s hard for me is that making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results. If I choose to eat broccoli instead of a cookie, my body doesn’t get any healthier or more fit in that moment… it doesn’t even get healthier in the next week. I have to constantly remind myself that making good choices is an investment into my future self. Making a good choice is like putting $10 away into your savings account. Eventually, with enough good choices, that small dollar amount will grow…with interest! Every time you make a good choice, you take your mind through the exercise of being healthy which, in turn, primes your mind for making another good choice in the future. The more and more you practice making good choices, the easier it gets. Additionally, there is also research that proves the more exposure we have to specific foods, the more we end up having a preference for them over other foods. So the more often we eat “clean”, the easier it becomes over time.
On the flip side, though… it’s important to understand that it’s COMPLETELY OKAY to have a bad day. Just like making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results, a bad choice doesn’t make my body go to waste right away either. If I choose to eat a cookie instead of broccoli, my body doesn’t get any worse in that moment. Any type of body change (fat loss or weight gain) requires time and consistency. So don’t let yourself feel guilty- Allow yourself to feel empowered that you have complete control because you have the tools and knowledge to make the next choice a good one.
What’s hard for me is that making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results. If I choose to eat broccoli instead of a cookie, my body doesn’t get any healthier or more fit in that moment… it doesn’t even get healthier in the next week. I have to constantly remind myself that making good choices is an investment into my future self. Making a good choice is like putting $10 away into your savings account. Eventually, with enough good choices, that small dollar amount will grow…with interest! Every time you make a good choice, you take your mind through the exercise of being healthy which, in turn, primes your mind for making another good choice in the future. The more and more you practice making good choices, the easier it gets. Additionally, there is also research that proves the more exposure we have to specific foods, the more we end up having a preference for them over other foods. So the more often we eat “clean”, the easier it becomes over time.
On the flip side, though… it’s important to understand that it’s COMPLETELY OKAY to have a bad day. Just like making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results, a bad choice doesn’t make my body go to waste right away either. If I choose to eat a cookie instead of broccoli, my body doesn’t get any worse in that moment. Any type of body change (fat loss or weight gain) requires time and consistency. So don’t let yourself feel guilty- Allow yourself to feel empowered that you have complete control because you have the tools and knowledge to make the next choice a good one.
Food is so weird and it takes up so much room in our heads, but it’s important to know that everyone has bad days. Being healthy is HARD. But what’s even harder is dealing with obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes…
So the next time you find yourself in a slump reaching for your 4th pop tart, first ask yourself if it’s worth it. Sure, you won’t be set back from reaching your goals in that moment, but you sure aren’t getting any closer. Ask yourself if you will be guilt-free after eating it. Ask yourself if you will be regret-free it in 10 minutes. If your answers are YES, then by all means, tear into that pop tart!!! That tart won’t even KNOW what hit ’em! …But if your answers are NO, pump the brakes and make a different choice.
Being healthy is a result of repeated choices that are in the favor of, well, HEALTH! In order to be healthy, we must face challenges dealing with food and diet ALL the time. The more we practice making good choices, the more adept we are to continue this pattern of behavior. The more we continue this behavior, the less we have to wait to reach our goals!
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