New Year’s Survival Tips for Food Addicts by Joan Kent, PhD

New Year’s Resolutions are here, and obstacles are everywhere.

 

Christmas candy is on sale till mid-January, when Valentine candy goes on display till February 14. February 15 it’s on sale. That takes us to March, when Easter candy appears – even when Easter is late in April. And so goes the year.

 

Everyone offers tips for sticking to resolutions. Ideas for quitting sugar, for example, may include (Do not take notes here!) eating fresh fruit; adding honey to plain yogurt; artificial sweeteners; swapping dark chocolate for milk chocolate; limiting sugar to desserts; weaning yourself off desserts by reducing the weekly number; substituting wine or spirits for high-sugar mixed drinks.

 

Those tactics don’t – can’t – work for those of us who have a sugar addiction. Here are a few suggestions – and some are common sense.

 

1. Keep sugar and other junk out of the house. Don’t buy it and tell yourself you won’t eat it. Don’t buy it and tell yourself you’ll have a small portion. Don’t make your kitchen a binge blowout waiting to happen. Just don’t.

 

2. Stop testing your willpower. I keep reading that we have only limited willpower, limited conscious self-control. Instead, change the situation.

 

Ask the waiter to remove the breadbasket from the table (white flour = junk). Don’t ask for the dessert menu. Reread Suggestion 1. The fewer willpower tests you have each day, the fewer lapses you’ll have later that day.

 

3. Train yourself to end a meal without dessert. No matter what others do, no matter what others think, no matter what others say, no matter what habits you learned as a child. It takes practice, but it’s worth it.

 

4. Lie. (Did that get your attention?) Don’t worry – I’m not telling you to lie for no reason or about important matters.

 

Seriously, food addiction is a need-to-know issue. Does everyone at the dinner table need to know you’re turning down dessert because you’re addicted to sugar? Or trying to lose weight? Both reasons will bring out every form of sabotage your “friends” can serve up:
“You’ll eat less tomorrow.”
“You’ll work out harder tomorrow.”
“Just a little can’t hurt.”
“But I made it myself.”

 

Harsh as it may seem, anyone who sabotages you is not a friend. If you have to pretend to want the food, say you’re full from the terrific dinner and ask for a doggie bag. On the way home, stop at the nearest trashcan and dump it. Don’t take it home and tell yourself you’ll make it last several days. Reread Suggestion 1.

 

5. Learn to throw away food, especially junk. No compunctions here. The U.S. overproduces food daily – by A LOT. Tossing junk is survival, NOT a sin.

 

 

6. Focus on short-term actions. What can you do right now to avoid junk food? A recent study showed this approach was better for weight loss than thinking about the long-term goal. It works for quitting junk, too. Plan your next meal: how can you make it healthy? Buy nutritious foods when you shop. Develop an end-of-day ritual for the first 20 minutes after you arrive home to keep you out of the kitchen.

 

There won’t be any junk in there, anyway, right?

 

As I’ve written before, motivation is not enthusiasm. It also fades when life presents its daily challenges. But using these suggestions consistently can be transformational.

 

Enthusiasm is optional. In fact, it’s often the result of consistent action.

 

You know how people struggle with weight, blood pressure, diabetes and more – but can’t fix the problem because they’re stuck on junk foods? I help you conquer your food addictions so you can transform your health and stay healthy and free. I’d love to help you change your weight and your sense of “you” for a truly New Year. Just visit www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Empowered Eating Consult.

 

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar:  7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.