It’s late. You’re standing in front of your cupboard. You’re snacking on everything your eyes touch. The usual phrase circles round, “What is there to eat?”. The tiny voice of reason is ignored and on you go, eating the world in front of you.

Later you wonder, “Why can’t I stop myself!? Why can’t I ever lose weight?”. It could be hunger, stress, boredom, thirst, or all of the above. It’s also the way our body is wired and how we react to stress; our hunger hormones are activated in the evenings (more on the science here).

We’ve all found ourselves here a million times before. We eat something when we’re not super hungry or we eat the unhealthy thing. Or maybe we just eat too much. The result is usually the same. Later comes the regret, the bloated tummy, and we go to bed feeling full and gross with self-hatred taking its toll.

How to change?

Losing weight is really about changing your mentality and setting up good, non-negotiable habits. The same for achieving any success in life.

#1 Ultimately decide you want to treat yourself well. Recognize you deserve to feel damn awesome about yourself.

#2 Set yourself up for success with good habits.

#3 Change the idea of saying ‘no’ to food as something negative into something positive.

#4 Remember; amazingly delicious healthy food exists!

 

It takes constant daily effort until it becomes a habit. Once you’ve made the decision to make a change, try just one thing; just one change. For example, “This week I am not having pasta”, or “Today, I am having a giant glass of water before every meal”. Ask yourself why this particular change is important and what reward you’ll gain from it. Make it important: remember the ‘why’, the reward, and the negative outcome if you don’t achieve it. Plaster it on the walls if you must! Implement it, really positively recognize when you do it, then moving on to the next change.

Some tips to remember

#1. When you’re in a clear state of mind, clean-up! Get rid of the junk. If it’s in the house, you will eventually eat it.

#2. Shopping hungry is a recipe for disaster. Go with a list and do not stray.

#3. The 1-5 rule: If one extra bite can easily be five: stop. Non-negotiable.

#4. If something is going to make you feel guilty…forget it. A quick NO. If it’s within your allowed ‘treats of the week’ (about 3 treats/week is generally a good ratio), then go for it as long as you know it won’t start a guilt-cycle.

#5. Focus on the REWARD. Saying no = empowerment. Saying yes = guilt.

It gets easier and easier as confidence grows and knowing it’s possible builds. Hoping versus knowing you will lose weight are completely different. Hoping makes you feel like you’ve got no control over the situation. Knowing you can do it makes you feel full of the energy that allows you to take action. Trust me! (And all the shrinks and research scientists out there) People can change! Not only can you do it – but you are doing it. Just by being here, reading this, you have already begun!

There are an abundance of resources

I highly recommend the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey.

“Making promises, setting goals, and being true to them builds the strength of character, the being, that makes possible every other positive thing in our lives. By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods.”

It’s hard if you haven’t made that first decision to begin your change real. Make it real or continue to suffer. Because as with everything, it is our choice how we want to react to the circumstances that surround us.

Choose your hard, as they say. Choose feeling awesome and empowered.

Saying ‘no’ is going to happen a hell of a lot more often when you know in our gut it will make you feel amazing. Focus on your one thing that will make you feel good, there is great power behind that.

To top it all off, when you’ve got recipes as healthy as they are delicious, it gets even easier. 

Recipe

Here’s my quick go-to smoothie when  my hangry monster is devouring me.