HABITS NOT DIETS # 15
If you don’t practice what you learn, You won’t incorporate it into your lifestyle. You might as well not lose weight if you’re going to regain it. The only insurance you have against gaining it back is to practice, practice, practice, those new habits.
You have had a couple of weeks to practice all the habits introduced. You have practiced habits that have to do with environment and food cues. This week we are moving on to ‘How We Think, Is How We eat.’
We are going to start working on the internal world of thoughts and feelings. Which you all know it affects our eating choices and how much we eat. The next few weeks we will discuss feelings and self-image and how to control what we eat when emotions are involved.
The easiest way to break the trap of a negative self-image is to allow yourself to project ahead to what you want to be, and begin to form an image in your mind of the new thin person that you want to become.
To help you accomplish this I want you to write down some of the characteristics of your thin self.
What will you be wearing?
How will you day be different?
Will you be happier, busier, or depressed?
(more questions on next page)
Everyone needs a positive self-image---how we view ourselves and value ourselves in the world. This can be your best friend and motivator. Food is always available, it seems to comfort, never says no, and fills that inner emptiness. Everyone uses it everyday for many reasons, few of which are related to nutritional needs.
The first step in breaking these patterns is awareness.
What we’re interested this week is feelings that in the past might have led to excess eating, currently do lead to excess eating and feelings that you might ‘medicate’ with chocolate.
Emotional eating is hard to control all the time so we are taking it one step at a time. Keep in mind that these habits are small steps to a healthier you.
FUTURE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
(These questions will help to create that thin image-- fill in the blanks)
My ideal weight.
My ideal clothing size.
My day-to-day life will be different.
Some of the things I will do differently
The activities I will engage in will be
My social life will change How?
My sex life?
My partner and I will
I will cope with the attention
I will deal with the expectations of others by