How to stop snacking …
This question may conjure up a whirlwind of emotions …
What if there were a simple test you could give to your kids to determine if they’ll be successful or not?
Would you do it?
Would you even want to know?
Well that test does exist … kind of …
You simply pick a treat you know they love (like candy or chocolate) and offer them one piece now.
Or, you tell them, if they wait until later … they get even more pieces.
Not knowing how long they have to wait or how much more they get later may lead to taking what’s in front of them …
Instant gratification.
Want to stop snacking? Exercise your delayed gratification muscle!
We all do it, so don’t feel bad.
However, delayed gratification is one of the number 1 predictors for success.
Can you sacrifice what you want in this exact moment for what you really want later?
Why am I bringing this up?
Because, without fail, I get asked on a daily basis some variation of the following question:
“How do I stop snacking or overeating (chips, chocolate, candy, cookies, etc.)?”
The first thing we need to do is determine if you’re setting yourself up for failure.
What I mean by that is … are you constantly in a state of restriction and deprivation?
Are you always under eating?
Are you telling yourself you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” eat those foods?
Are you relying solely on willpower?
If yes, we need to fix that right away.
If no, we need to develop the muscle of delayed gratification.
Because the reality is this …
Once we’ve set you up so that you’re not restricting or depriving yourself (which generally fixes the issue 90% of the time) …
And you’re still engaging in the behavior that is not serving you and that you don’t want to continue …
It’s simply a matter of awareness and conscious choice.
You are actively choosing temporary sanctification while sacrificing what you truly want.
Of course, this is assuming that you have goals and the actions you are trying to avoid are moving you further away from them.
If that’s the case, you need to give yourself a pause or a second to make a conscious choice that aligns with what you truly want.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of walking away for 10 seconds and taking the time to assess how you’ll feel 30 minutes after that decision …
That instant gratification won’t be very fulfilling.
On the other hand, imagine how you’ll feel when you have total control over your actions and behaviors.
Think of it like this … sometimes in a moment we make a knee jerk reaction that we’d like to do over.
Maybe it’s a poor reaction to someone you love or a defensive comment.
Afterwards, you typically settle down into conscious thinking and realize you’d like to handle the situation better next time.
And that’s it.
Don’t beat yourself up.
Learn from your mistakes and move on
As a human, we are guaranteed to make millions of mistakes.
The goal is to learn from them and use what we learn to grow and evolve.
Over time, we become more equipped to make better decisions.
And, that’s the only thing that matters.
Does this make sense? Does it resonate?
If you’d like to learn more and really set yourself up for long term success …
You can still join the Fat Loss Freedom workshop – session 2 on Friday + lifetime access to all of the trainings!
