By When you finally make a deal with yourself to change your body and life. Then suddenly, everywhere you turn, temptation lures you back where you belong.
I know the feeling; it’s happened to me and perhaps most people that have dieted. The one moment you decide it’s time to get shredded, it seems like temptation is ready to pull your ass back into the fat zone. During my extreme bodybuilding dieting phase (where I had a can of tuna and a boiled egg every morning for breakfast), I felt the need to put my mouth under a chocolate fountain tap and let it pour — not only in my mouth but somehow get it into my veins. The image I created in my head startled me. So how did I turn into this chocolate treat obsessed monster? I’m allergic to milk, for goodness sake. But there it was, my fantasy of a belly filled with all the chocolate I wanted — and I wanted it right now!That’s when I knew something was going on upstairs that needed to sort itself out (and rest assured, it’s a never-ending battle with the mind.)
That’s right up towards the most extreme level of dieting, that can not only mess up your mindset but what about the damage it does to your metabolism and health as well? How do we resist the temptation of breaking the diet bank when we’re out of our wit’s end, searching for something in the form of chocolate, cakes or pastries? Well, for starters, it’s not hard to get your hands on something quickly, due to our food environment being one of sheer convenience, calorie-dense and utterly delicious too.We can talk endlessly about what foods any dieter should eat, but that doesn’t serve a purpose when you come face to face with delicious temptations everywhere you turn. There has been some interesting research about this — to discover whether people eat more when foods are around.
The sad truth is that it’s a thumbs up on this one. The eating behaviour of those who weigh more (and I bet another study will prove it’s apparent for most people not overweight) is susceptible to the presence of tempting food within reach.In the current food environment, the ready availability of a large variety of inexpensive, highly palatable, high-calorie foods may result in frequent episodes of overeating (1) Be honest now, have you ever felt yourself tempted to eat more just because you see delicious food all around you?
I can bet my bottom dollar that we indulge in the food, despite not being hungry at all. This experiment proves helpful in my own workplace. When there is a new stash of various chocolates, snacks bars and lollies, I see most of my colleagues make a move from their chairs at 3 pm. Some even going in for seconds and thirds.The same truth applies to a fruit bowl. If it’s there, stuff gets eaten (although not with the same level of enthusiasm as junk). How do we even attempt to eliminate this temptation during work and home hours?There is no easy comeback to this, it’s hard, guys, and it takes a lot of mental focus initially — possibly a lot more mental push than you’d like.
Using your willpower day in day out can get exhausting — and once you’ve entirely burnt it out — those cheese crisps for your 3 pm munch hour will seem even tastier.
BUT
If you are committed to making this happen, to stay on the bandwagon for good, and eliminate the temptations, then you’ve come to the right place.
You can, and you will do this, even if it’s a little bit tough in the beginning.
I have two solutions for you: pick the first one and then move onto mission two when you’ve mastered that.
Mission one: Make healthier alternatives for all the things you love to eat.
That’s right; this is one of the best and easiest things you can do.Whatever your favourite foods are, research online to finding any alternatives that can match your indulgence.
Yes, it does take some time and effort — but it’s one of the best ways to FEEL like you can still have the foods you love.
For some people, it may mean doing a bit of extra cooking on the weekends, preparing some snacks, or compiling a collection of things you like to eat. There are so many healthy alternatives to the following:• Pizza• Burgers• Fried chips• Chicken Nuggets• Fried riceAnd the list goes on and on. You can find an exciting array of recipes on my website if you want to get started now. Plan to make all of your indulgences on a day you’re not busy with chores or working.First, spend a couple of hours online researching and printing out what you want. Then, start to make each and everything, one by one.
To keep in mind, you should still follow the portion rules and use the best possible ingredients.For example, if you are trying to go low carb, then fry zucchini chips, and if you want a burger, use a lettuce cup as your bun instead. Also, I have a great Keto BBQ pizza recipe so make sure you try it out.
Mission two: Throw away all your junk good in every cupboard or draw.
Get rid of anything and everything that’s processed, packaged junk right away.Please get rid of it; you can make or buy a better alternative.Now, you have started to expand your mind in seeking healthy options, it will begin to filter out into other parts of your life.
When it comes to work, you can’t tell them to throw out the contents of that junk cabinet.What you can do is ask them to buy healthy alternatives for you. Give them some options, and suggest they take a healthy path towards snacks.
Bonus mission: If you find it too hard to resist, do the following (courtesy of Les Brown).
- Don’t drive by the places you know you will stop in and indulge
- Don’t hang around people who are eating; if you aren’t hungry and know you will indulge
- If you do give in to that treat, offset it by eating super healthy for the rest of the week and doing some extra exercise to help shift the potential for weight gain.
These alternatives worked so well for me, especially when it came to making my meal favourites.It helped make me feel like I wasn’t missing out on the things I grew up with and loved.Now, over nine years have passed since my chocolate tap fantasy, and I don’t get tempted by stray bars tucked away in our cupboard. It’s certainly has been a long road for me through sugar addiction — but the hard work was worth the good health I’ve built from the ground up today.Seek good health and ignore the rest.. just for now.