For most of people, in most of situations pain is pretty far away from pleasure, in fact our minds job is to move us away from pain and towards pleasure.
Yet, most of the time, when we are dieting we work against our brain and put ourselves through pain.
Okay, I’m not saying we stick forks in our hand so we don’t eat cake – not that kind of pain. But small emotional pains that all add up.
People focus on denying themselves certain foods. They focus on getting up at 5am to go for a run in the rain when they would really rather have a lay in and a cuppa. I used to deny myself carbs and chocolate. I would tell myself I can’t have wine, I have to exercise, I shouldn’t have cake, I must stick to my diet.
What you are saying is, I would like to have this, but my diet is forcing me to do something I don’t want to – you are focusing on the pain.
Have you ever been told to do something you were planning to do anything and then not done it, simply because you were being told to?
As humans, we don’t like to be told what to do (funny that) so we rebel, even when it is to our own detriment. We cut our nose off to spite our face.
These pains may be small, but our mind still sees it as it’s job to move us away from pain and towards pleasure (the thing we are telling ourselves that we can’t have).
Inevitably we ‘fall off the wagon’, our minds send us every signal it can to ensure it, and then do we feel happy? No, we feel guilty and ashamed because we shouldn’t have eaten a whole bar of chocolate and a bag of Haribo! And now we are in pain, the whole cycle starts again.
But what if we could change that? What if we could link pleasure our diet? To enjoy eating foods that nourish our bodies, give us energy to excel in ourselves and wear the clothes we love?
You can, by simply changing your focus.
Rather than dictating to yourself all the things you can’t have. Look at the things you can have and the life you creating each time you make healthy choices. Look at all the exciting delicious meals you can make on your favourite apps, look at the wonderful clothes you will be able to wear and think about all you will be able to do by CHOOSING a healthy option every time you CHOOSE a snack. Think about how much fitter and stronger your body is getting every time you CHOOSE to get up and work out.
By making this small change to how you view your diet, you begin re-wiring your brain to link pleasure to making healthy choices. You could take this a step further and remind yourself when you are reaching for an unhealthy snack or skip a workout that you are choosing to slow your progress towards your ideal weight and everything you will gain from being slim.
If you want to change your eating habits, or any other unhealthy behaviour, start by linking pleasure to the things that are good for you, and pain to the things you want to eliminate from your life. When it comes to making healthy changes, this is one of the most powerful techniques at your disposal. Make today the day you book a free call with me so we can get started on creating an action plan tailored specifically for you. Together, we can make your dreams of a healthier lifestyle a reality.