Most of us, when we start a new health program, begin the program firmly entrenched in a "diet" mentality. What this means is that, basically, we aren't used to paying much attention to our own self-management and self-care, and now here comes this program which not only controls WHAT we will eat, but WHEN we should eat it. It's easy to view this as an imposition, or a perceived deprivation of our freedoms, a "restriction" on our behavior and time.
Consequently, we can find ourselves resisting modifying our behavior to fit the plan, and instead attempt to recreate the plan in our OWN image, which, frankly, I gotta tell ya, didn't work well for me and won't work well for anyone attempting it.
How do we modify the timing to fit our unhealthy habits? Well, we don't eat until noon. Or we don't remember WHEN we had our first sip of actual WATER when lunch rolls around, so we try to "catch up a bit". Or how about we simply don't think about the day, we let the day happen TO us instead of US happening on our day. Let's face it, these neglects of taking care of ourselves is what got us to the point we needed a change in the first place, these "seemingly small" unhealthy habits, over time, have led to less-than-desired results in terms of our own health.
So we dive in to the program as we are, with an an unhealthy or "un-sick but not healthy" body and mind to match. Now, all of a sudden, we resent the fact that we can't have "freedom" in all areas of our eating and our time. It is a bother. I mean, really, I HAVE to eat 5 portion-controlled meal replacements AND a weighed and measured lean and green meal, now you're telling me WHEN I HAVE to eat them?
Deprivation. Imposition. Restriction. Buzz-kill. Me no wanna!
So that is the "diet mentality" in a nutshell.
Part of working past his diet mentality is making a fundamental decision TOWARDS optimal health. Making a decision that we will develop healthy habits which, when practiced and mastered over time, will allow us the freedom to live the life we want to live, healthily. Not just "un-sick", but vibrantly healthy in as much as we are individually capable of health.
Many of us have lived many days in a state of "mindlessness" as regards our own health. We've kind of simply lived each day and made each decision AS REGARDS OUR OWN HEALTH in a bit of an impulsive way, without much thought to the consequences. We may be planners in every other area of our lives. We may be spot on with obligations to other people, our careers, our children, our household, etc but insofar as our OWN self-management goes with health, we haven't really thought about it much or when we have it has always been in an "I really should do this or that or the other thing..." or "I really NEED to do this or that or the other thing..." and maybe we've tried a few things once or twice or a dozen times, but we are always left with resenting the program, the plan, and ultimately the condition of our health because we haven't made an EFFECTIVE INTENTIONAL change towards where we WANT to go.
So back to timing of the meals. If the thought of a little pre-planning makes you cringe or you feel like it cramps your style, or you simply don't know WHY you are resisting it but you just ARE, then this is an area that I want to give you hope in.
Yes, YOU CAN develop this habit of health, this habit of mindfully fueling your body with what it needs to take you where you want to go in your health. And don't miss this, because mastery of this seemingly small habit of health is ESSENTIAL if you hope to create optimal health in your own life.
Embrace it, enjoy it, get in to it, think of it as a puzzle or a challenge and know that YES it is POSSIBLE to bring about real change.
And, truly, it is YOU putting on your oxygen mask BEFORE you can assist those around you.
Taking 5-10 minutes at the beginning of your day to plan out what and when you intend to eat is crucial when it comes to success achieving optimal health. When we DON'T do this, all of a sudden life gets in the way. All of a sudden we are confused at 4:00 pm because we feel incredibly hungry and tired and brain-foggy and we wonder "Why am I feeling this way? i've been ON PLAN today!"
Have you? Because the weight-loss portion of our plan is not simply WHAT you are eating, it is WHEN. It is WHAT, WHEN and HOW with FOOD and it is HOW MUCH and WHEN with water.
If you pre-plan your day with your food and your water, and you set your cell alarms for your eating/drinking times, and you make sure what you need is available when you need it, then I can almost guarantee you won't get that 4:00 pm "Danger, danger, Will Rogers" time where we always feel our "willpower" has evaporated and we dive into whatever presents itself next, OFF PLAN.
Taking a few minutes in the morning to develop the healthy habit of planning your day with regards to your food/water intake, and then following the plan you developed, is vital to success not only in the weight-loss portion of our plan, but also in the Transition and Maintenance phases, because Maintenance is simply a continuation of the healthy habits we've developed, with a little more and different WHAT (food). But really, in maintenance, it is truly only the WHAT (variety and amount of food) which is expanded. Maintenance is simply an extension of the healthy habits we've developed in the weight-loss phase.
If we don't master this skill, maintenance is extremely difficult because we simply snap back to what we were doing before we went on the program. We don't eat until noon. We don't drink water until 2:00 pm after we've finished the pot of coffee we nursed all morning. We don't TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES and our needs, because we didn't learn how to do that in the weight-loss phase of our program.
What does "mastery" look like? Well, if it took you 1/2 hour to organize your schedule for eating/drinking water on the first day you tried it, then after a few weeks of practice and getting into the habit of doing it, it may now take you only 5 minutes. FIVE minutes! But it is being intentional and writing it down which is so important, you are putting your health FIRST before getting on with the rest of your day.
As Obese or Overweight individuals, we never did that before! It is a new habit of health that will benefit us getting where we want to go! And it IS exciting!
I overcame my initial resistance to planning my day and am now thoroughly enjoying the few minutes it takes for me to do that! Sometimes I even do it the night BEFORE so it is set for the next day, and I LOVE how it focuses me intentionally on HEALTH each day. When I am focused on HEALTH for even a few minutes each day, and write it down, I find I am much more likely to remain on plan for that day. I find that what I would have previously considered a "temptation" is no longer even a temptation! Therefore, "will-power" is not necessary, so if I run out of "will-power" at 4pm so what? In fact, I never feel like I run out because it isn't ABOUT will-power firstly, and secondly I haven't had to white-knuckle it for most of the day and be exhausted mentally by 4pm. The healthier choice becomes the easiest choice for me, actually, so "will-power" is not necessary because I'm not fighting against myself all day. I am simply cruising along in my day, not noticing the bottles of red wine at the grocery store, not giving the muffins in the display case at Whole Foods a second glance, so there is no need to fight any desires to HAVE any of those things. It truly is magical what happens when you IMPLEMENT eating on plan and on schedule, including water!
What seemed like an imposition on my freedoms at the beginning of my "diet" are now the fuel to my fire, the habits of my health. Mindfulness. Intentionality. Taking the time to take care of myself. It isn't a BURDEN, it is a JOY! Rinse and Repeat.
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