How is your Willpower when it comes to food ?

Hello
How are you all ?
Have you had a good week?
How are you finding the darker nights and the colder weather ?
Do you find ‘being good’ harder during the Winter months ?

Food preparation is key it really is even more so during this Season.

Think you have no willpower as you keep ‘slipping off the waggon’?

It’s not your fault!!

Willpower is like a battery and every time you use your mental energy for tasks, it is drained.

Even thinking about something you have to do uses up your willpower.

And also, trying to stop yourself from thinking about things you have to do.

That uses willpower too.

The point is that willpower is a finite resource.

Because of that, it is not big or clever to rely on willpower alone.

instead, try using little tricks or hacks that make it more likely you will move forward in your process rather than backwards.

So let’s look at 2 food insights:

Trigger foods and savour foods (my terms, choose your own).

If you can get a handle on this you may not need willpower again.

TRIGGER FOODS

These are foods that may ‘trip you up’, set off the domino effect or just don’t really serve any good.

Sometimes they are obvious, but not always!

One of the most common is ‘diet’ foods, low fat, lite etc etc.

They contain little calories, but for many, they lead to overconsumption of high-calorie foods later.

Research confirms this. So PLEASE PLEASE avoid low-fat foods even if it seems contrary to all the advice over the last 30 years: that is outdated advice!!!!!!

Other common trigger foods are those that combine salt, sugar, starch and/or fat. (Crisps are my nightmare trigger!)

 These foods may make some people eat more at that meal and increase desire for similar foods later. (Chinese take away anyone?)

Research call’s this a “hedonistic effect”, where certain food combinations make us crave more high-calorie tasty food later.

You can probably relate, right?  Ever had a cheat meal turn into a cheat week?

 This is part of the reason.

Trigger foods can be hidden too and may be keeping you from losing weight without you knowing it.

Foods high in gluten can cause thyroid issues in some, but not most.  Dairy foods can have an exaggerated insulin response in some, but again not all.

It’s worth sitting down sometimes and working out what are your trigger foods.

Find them…..and then avoid them.

SAVIOUR FOODS

These are foods that protect you from  negative changes in hunger energy and cravings. (i.e. make you have a more balanced metabolism)

Compared to trigger foods, buffer foods are far broader.  They can simply be something you enjoy and that keeps you from eating more later.

EG  a square of dark chocolate, a small glass of wine, or a spoonful of nut butter.

Ironically, one person’s trigger food can be another person’s saviour.

One example is nuts.  For some, nuts act as a perfect saviour.  For others, they eat nuts and nut butter and they simply can’t stop. In the latter case, they become a trigger food.

Write down your suspected trigger and saviour foods

This is such a powerful resource but you need to understand that it is VERY INDIVIDUAL AND PERSONALISED!!!!

No one size fits all.

Take a minute now to write down three of your worst trigger foods?

Then write your three best saviour foods.

Now develop a plan of attack to get rid of the triggers and add on the buffers.

Trust me, this is very powerful and if you can master this, it’s going to make your life so much easier. No more relying on willpower.

BOOM!!!!

Hope this helps, I would love to hear from you and what you think.

Have a great week ahead…

Don’t forget it’s BRING A FRIEND FOR FREE TO ANY CLASS DURING NOVEMBER.