• Willpower doesn’t work! Control your environment instead.

  Filed under Healthy Habits
  Mar 24

  Your assignment for today is to practice “environmental control” rather than “self-control” ensuring that you always have effective choices in food within easy reach. Willpower alone is not an effective long-term weight management strategy for most people.  It may work some of the time, but many of us have been in that place where we just keep trying to tell ourselves not to eat whatever it is that is tempting us or we convince ourselves that we can “just have one” which turns into 10… or more! It’s best to expect that you’ll eat whatever is in your immediate environment unless you have some solid strategies, like eating foods that are effective for your weight management while you’re around the other tempting foods.

   

  You can’t eat it if you don’t buy it
  Remove from your environment any food that is ineffective for your weight management and fueling your body if possible. It is not about “good” food or “bad” food… you are not a better person because you have made “good” food choices today. You are not a “bad” person because of the foods you eat. You are simply either making effective or ineffective choices regarding your health. I generally don’t keep peanut butter in my house because if you knew me, you know I love it in spoonfuls straight out of the jar! If it is in your environment, at work, at home, at friend’s houses… the possibility exists that you may eat a lot of it.

   

  Out of sight, out of mind (hopefully!)
  When you live with others, there may be foods that they want in the house that are not part of your weight management plan. In these instances, put these ineffective foods away so that you will not see them all the time. Pick one cabinet where those foods go where you will not be looking at it every time you open the cabinet door. Store these types of foods in opaque containers in the refrigerator so you don’t see them when you open the fridge. There are always those foods that “call your name” however, even when you don’t see them, you know they’re there! This is a good indication this is a “trigger” food for you that you may want to negotiate not having in the house. Don’t beat yourself up (and don’t let anybody else do it either!) because you “don’t have enough willpower.”  It’s not about willpower! It’s about making choices in your life.

   

  Be prepared and stock up at home
  What do you need to add to your environment to support your success in weight management? Do you have fruits and vegetables in your house? At work? Do you keep canned fruits and veggies at your desk or in your car? Fill up on fruits and vegetables before you make decisions around other foods and your calories are likely to automatically decrease while still filling you up with volume.

   

  If you are not accustomed to eating fruits and vegetables, I would start by buying frozen and canned fruits and veggies while you are learning what you like and how you like them prepared. That way, you don’t waste money or food as you start incorporating more of these foods into your diet. Look for fruits canned in juice and veggies with little or no salt added.

   

  There are many frozen vegetables that can be steamed right in the bag in which you buy them, such as Birdseye® Steamfresh® vegetables. Think of this as a healthy “fast food.” Incorporating as many fruits and veggies (prepared in a low fat manner) as you can into each day, increases your chances for managing your weight on a long-term basis.

   

  What are the foods that cripple your willpower? And what are some strategies you use to make sure you include healthy foods in your day?

   

  
  Tagged as: Habits
  

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