#1 Stop Rewarding Yourself with Food
Food is a necessity for survival and not a reward for good deeds. If you’ve walked 10,000 steps, it doesn’t mean you can allow yourself to eat your favorite food. Remember that everyone deserves nourishment.
Instead of rewarding yourself with food, build a healthy reward system that doesn’t revolve around eating. A good example is going to a yoga class, having a walk in the park, getting a manicure or massage, or anything else you can think of (outside of food or alcohol).
Answer this question to learn more about a non-food reward that might work for you: What non-food reward would truly motivate me to take action?
#3 Don’t Categorize Foods into “Good” and “Bad”
Remember that foods have no moral value. There are no “good” or “bad” food choices, so you should stop seeing pizza or any other high-calorie meal as your one-day-a-month “cheat meal.” Instead, understand that food is simply more nutritious (lower calorie, nutrient-dense foods) or less nutritious (higher calorie foods with less nutrients.) Instead, have a mindful portion of your favorite treat occasionally and plan for it into your overall nutritional intake, and you’ll never feel guilty for your choices.
You can even include your favorite non-nutritious foods if your goal is weight loss! The key is to create a calorie deficit while staying active. As long as you eat nutritious and filling foods most of the time and enjoy your weight loss journey–nothing else matters.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are numerous factors that influence your food choices, and being hungry is just a small part of them. What you eat may also be driven by your feelings, the people around you, and even the place where you consume food.
Your dietary preferences change with age, and you acquire a taste for foods you may have never liked before, and it’s totally okay. But if you think you have certain triggers that provoke overeating or even undereating, it’s important to address those issues to regain control of what you eat and how.
At Strong with Sarah, we help our clients establish healthy eating habits with the option of creating personalized workout plans, whether they exercise at home or in the gym.
Get in touch with us today and our coaches will help you achieve your weight loss goals and improve your relationship with food.
