“There’s cake in the kitchen, have a slice. Go on.”
“It’s [insert name of colleague here] birthday. Eat cake”
“It’s Jane’s last day in the office…eat some cake”
“It’s Monday and we hate Monday’s, remember”
“It’s Friday. Wooooo. The weekend. Have some cake”
And perhaps the most interesting one which may be the person simply wanting to feel better about themselves:
“Don’t be boring. Eat cake”
Sound familiar?
Truth is – and as many of the ladies I work with discover – it’s not actually the cake in itself that’s making us gain the pounds..
But actually our “belief” that this is a “bad” food and that by having some cake, you’ve failed, and you might as well eat whatever and start again on Monday.
And the quicker you accept that this “belief” impacts whether you do the things you say you need to do to get the things you say you want?
The quicker you’re going to develop a nutritional strategy AND MINDSET to get in shape and develop a more positive relationship with food.
After all, it’s rarely ‘the thing’ that stresses you out. It’s rarely ‘the thing’ that makes you anxious. It’s often your thoughts about ‘the thing’…that don’t currently exist…
You see, you’re never going to live a life where you have no holidays, no birthdays, or avoid the ever present “every day is cake day” office culture…oh and can I mention Christmas, yet?
We eat to live…
BUT.. We also eat when we’re happy. We eat when we’re tired and stressed. We eat when we’re bored. We eat when we SEE or SMELL certain foods. We also eat when others are eating.
I get that it’s difficult. Even when doing some work in the NHS …there’s cake around in offices and staff rooms.
And I’m not going to say that I have ‘the secret’ to help you with this…I can only give you the tools that might help…
But our friends in lab coats may be on to something because research shows that doing any of the following may help you take back control of your eating habits once and for all:
* Exercise – It not only improves the way you handle food but could reduce your hunger levels. Or perhaps it sets you up for the day and gives you more energy / shifts your mindset? Takes time out of your day so there’s less time for you to think about food? Delays breakfast if you’re doing it first thing in the morning so your eating window is shorter?
* Only eat out of crockery rather than the packet – This can prevent you from overeating (You know, the SEEfood diet) and help you lose fat
* Use a smaller plate / bowl / cutlery can make you spontaneously serve less << but don’t go too small…as then you may actually eat more to justify that you ‘used such a small plate’ AKA I’m not saying go eat your dinner off of a saucer
* Bring in other snack options for the 323pm cake crash – fruit, greek yoghurt, smoked salmon, crudiet or – as some of the ladies I work with have done – take in some of our Mind Blowing Rocky Road and other super simple dessert recipes in from our nutrition system (they won’t even notice and you know you are on track)
* Take *some* regift the rest – you might make someones day (or ruin it lol)
* Get others on board – They say we become the average of the 5 people we spend the most its with. So it’s no wonder that the ladies on our Fit For Life Body Transformation Programme have found the support group one of the most influential parts of the programme.
* And THE most effective in my opinion? Structure your meals so they are filling, nutritious and tasty…and then give yourself UNCONDITIONAL PERMISSION to eat any food you like (even party rings) providing you fit it in to your nutrition strategy
Imagine if next time you eat a so-called “bad” food you didn’t self sabotage the rest of your week? Made better-informed, more intelligent decisions about your food and training choices?
What would be different for you? Would you be closer to your body transformation goals? Wake up with more energy? Be more productive? Have more confidence? Who would you be?
Which brings me on to our Online Female Fat Loss Coaching Group launching on Monday 20th August. If you want to see what I can offer you, how others have got on, or just want some more info ahead of the launch, just press reply.
Have Make it a great day 😉
Matt “lord of the party rings” Fruci
www.FruciFit.com/Results
