Diary of an Aspiring Loser – [PSA: “like” my blog’s Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed.]

It’s the food junkie equivalent of the after-dinner cigarette. A time, place or situation that I associate with overeating. Or, if not overeating, with junk eating. About a week ago I posted this on my FB page.

Garden Girl KP and Insecure Chubby Girl thanks for the support!

Identifying the times, places and situations that can, all by themselves, be a trigger, has been helpful in what Sara described, being able to call it out for what it is and tackle it. If I know that an appointment near the Foster’s Freeze can equal a soft-serve ice cream craving, then I can prepare for it before I get there, before the trigger kicks in.

Probably my biggest craving by association is after the kids are in bed. The house is quiet, there’s no one to interrupt my indulgence, or to leave me feeling judged. It’s almost like I can eat and pretend it didn’t happen. Knowing that’s a trigger time for me means I can prepare for it.

“Ok, the kids are getting settled in bed. What are you going to do now Michelle?” I recently read research indicating that asking yourself a question such as, “Am I going to make healthy choices tonight?” vs telling yourself, “I am going to make healthy choices tonight” actually leads to more successful outcomes. That makes sense to me because it comes from a place of internal desire and control. What we in the psychology field call internal Locus of Control.

I guess I’m changing the subject here. But I believe shifting our locus of control from external to internal is KEY in this journey. YOU are the one making choices, YOU are the one that wants to lose/maintain your weight. YOU and no one else, no outside force is denying you those cookies, no other person is saying you can’t have something. You can have whatever you want…the question is, what do you want?

So I like that and I’ve been trying it out lately. When I’m facing a trigger time/place/situation I ask myself, “Are you going to make a healthy choice here Michelle?” or “Are you going to the gym after work Michelle?” Yes, yes I am.
(c) Diary of an Aspiring Loser – Read entire story here.