Temptation is always around.
Instead of depending on others to help you be successful with your diet, make a commitment that you will protect your program at all costs!
One way to do this is to postpone eating and make people think you aren’t ready for food yet. Anytime you feel pressured to eat something, sidestep the food pusher by using this magic phrase:
“Not just yet… I’m going to wait a little while.”
You can repeat this phrase (or a slight variation of it) as many times as you need to. It gives you a gracious way to handle social situations and protect yourself from eating.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Watch for chances to respond to food invitations by using the line, “Not just yet; I’m going to wait a little while.” Describe these below.
Ordering at a restaurant, especially dessert
Avoiding snacks or taking seconds when I’m visiting my family
Waiting to eat at a neighborhood barbeque (I can escape a lot of food this way)
2. Identify at least three high-risk times or events such as family gatherings or quiet weekends. Describe how you’ll protect your diet program during each of these.
When I’m tired and I want to join my husband for meals or having a drink in our loft before dinner. I will protect my program by having sparkling water instead of wine. (I put it in a wine glass to have the same feeling.)
When I have a let-down after hard work such as teaching a class. My plan is to drink a lot of water instead of looking for nurturing from food.
Holiday parties or family gatherings where our ritual is to eat ice cream every night. I can protect my plan by telling them I’m going to wait a while, then do something else and skip the ice cream.
3. Do at least one thing today that reinforces your determination to protect your program at all costs. Write down what you did.
This is actually what I did last night when we went to dinner with friends who are getting married in two weeks. To protect my program at all costs, I ate an ounce of string cheese before we left for the restaurant, ordered a club soda in a wine glass, and told them I needed to wait a while for dessert because I was too full. After we talked a bunch more, and had coffee, we headed home and no one noticed I didn’t share the dessert!
Excerpted from Day 6 in the book, 100 Days of Weight Loss