Sad Breakfast Pastry (via Google Images)
I don’t know if it’s all those late night infomercials for thigh masters or shake weights, or if it’s tabloids with photoshopped famous people, but something out there has made us associate the words “problem areas” with our bodies. While it’s true we do have areas on our bodies that we are unhappy with and therefore deem problems, it’s also true that most of those “problems” on our bodies start, or at some point grow bigger, from our heads! As women, we tend to over-analyze ourselves, compare ourselves to other women, and often times make things out to be far worse than they actually are. With that said, I would like to address three of my most daunting, terrible, and exhausting MENTAL problem areas when it comes to my fitness & health.
1. Stopping When I’m Full.
2. Late Night Eating.
3. Letting Go of Guilt When I Slip.
Those 3 things are perhaps the 3 biggest hindrances to my weight loss/achieving my weight goal and those 3 things are also the biggest cause of self-punishment over anything else in my life. Isn’t that sad? Sometimes when I don’t make the right choice, I punish myself over and over for it, which only causes me to snow-ball on bad choices. In writing this blog, and in reading other blogs from women similar to myself, I have found that not only are there ways to make our “problem areas” better, but also to not go mental when I make a mistake! Because eating right, exercising, and trying to lose weight while also trying to do everything else in our lives… well, that can be stressful. But it doesn’t ALWAYS have to be stressful, or a self-conflict.
In order to help myself get over my 3 mental problem areas, I first want to be honest with myself and you all.
1. Often times when I am eating a big dinner, I do not stop and ask myself if I am full. Sometimes the motion of eating can be calming after a hectic day and stopping mid-meal to ask myself “Do you really need the rest?” or “Are you full?” seems hard to do. Here are some tips for myself (and for anyone with this problem!) to stopping when I’m full.
-Cut your meal in half before you even start eating. Chances are, you’ll be full after just half anyway, especially when dining out at a restaurant. And if you’re eating out, ask for a box with your food (or even ask for the restaurant to bring half already boxed up) and save the rest for another whole meal.
-Try to eat more slowly. I know when I am super hungry, part of the reason I can’t stop when I am full is because I am inhaling my food! Like a pig! If you eat more slowly, you are able to gauge your fullness quicker on in the meal. If you think you’re getting full, wait a couple of minutes for your food to settle.
-Serve yourself less than you normally would if you know you have control issues. On the days I’ve missed my afternoon snack or eaten a super light lunch, I usually serve myself a smaller dinner portion because I know that I’m more hungry than normal and that I will devour whatever is in front of me, no matter what the size. Giving myself less to start with often helps.
2. I developed a bad habit eating late at night when my husband was working the night shift at his job two years ago. He would leave around 8 or 9pm and I would be afraid to sleep in our apartment by myself so I would stay up watching DVDs and munching until quite late at night. Pretty soon my body starting acting hungry at all hours, thus developing a nasty habit. It’s been a hard thing to kick and I KNOW this is one bad habit that, once kicked, will completely show results right away. Even though I justify breaking the rules and ignoring the tips, here are some good ways to avoid night snacking (and some of these techniques apply to the problem known as “Mindlessly Munching” as well!):
-Brush your teeth after your last meal. Don’t know what the specialists say about that (I’m sure they say somethin’!) but it just tends to work. Having minty fresh chompers curbs your hunger, or maybe you’re like me and just too lazy to get up and brush them again? Either way it works.. when you actually do it 
-If you get the urge to eat and it’s past your “set time” (for me it’s 8pm), trying drinking a big glass of water, iced tea, having a glass of warm diet cocoa, etc.
-Wait 10 minutes, find another activity to occupy your mind, and see if the urge to eat passes. Most of the time its more of our mind wanting than our body needing, so if you can un-focus on food, you can usually move past it.
3. This may not be my worst problem, but when it does happen, it happens, in a baaaad way. If I do good ALL day and then get my arm twisted (eh, ahem, yeah) into eating a huge cup of ice cream with crunched up cookies, a la McFlurry status, then I will literally hate myself in my head. But once I stop and think about it, having a slip isn’t half as bad as constantly beating myself up and punishing myself. I still battle with this when it occurs but now what I tell myself is this:
-As long as I’m exercising and active, it’s okay to eat something less than desirable every once in a while. It won’t kill me as long as it’s not a habit!
-Another way to overcome this is to allow yourself a minute or two to be frustrated and then moving on. I know sometimes when I slip a lot of my frustration comes from knowing that I am going to be mad at myself. It’s emotional. But trying to completely restrict your feelings can often lead to a worsened mental state and perhaps more binging on bad food! So let yourself be disappointed if you need that, but only for a minute, and move on.
-Tomorrow is a new day! It’s okay to eat something bad when I want it.
-Focus your mad & guilt energy on something positive: I slipped today but it’s okay because tomorrow is a new day and I am excited about ___________. If you can shift your energy onto something else you won’t feel so guilty.
While these aren’t absolute answers or bottom-line solutions to my issues, I’ve found that the above remedies tend to be a general consensus amongst fellow women & foodie/health bloggers. Moreover, I’ve found that when my heads on straight and I stick to my guns, these things really do work!
Now it’s just a matter of following through!
What are YOUR “problem areas” and what do you do to help yourself overcome them?
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