How To Reprogram Your Mind So That You Stop Yo-Yo Dieting & Binge Eating ..........(especially at weekends)

It’s incredibly frustrating to feel as though you’re always eating well Monday to Thursday......but then seem to revert back to old (poorer habits) at the weekend.

And that endless cycle brings with it, the added frustration of feeling as though you just can’t get into “the zone” with your eating.

Couple those together, and you find that the binge-eating on a weekend, is not only undoing all of your good work from Monday to Thursday, but it’s actually causing more weight to creep on - maybe just a pound every week or two, but it soon adds up.

This is a very common pattern that we see, and with it comes the fear of many clients and prospective clients, feeling as though it’s a cycle they’ll have to battle forever - no end in sight, maybe into old age !

Do you just want to feel healthier, be more in control and feel as though it ISN'T a constant battle?

Would you love to develop a more relaxed mindset around food, and feel free of the common anxieties that many people (women in particular) have around food?
​
If so, then this article is for you.

We’ve got 3 key areas to focus on, in order to reprogram your mind away from yo yo dieting and the endless cycle of weekend binging.

 1)  Stop using black and white labels

Ever hear yourself saying some of the following phrases?

“I’m being good at the moment”
“I’m trying to be good”
“I’m eating healthily at the moment”
“I’m doing the xxxx diet “
“I’m eating clean”

Of course you have.
So have we.

The problem with this language however, is the MINDSET behind it.

Question: if you are not “being good”, what are you being instead ?
Answer: you’re being “bad”

If you’re not eating healthily, what are you eating?
Unhealthily .

Basically, our brains tell us that if we’re not doing one, we’re doing the other.

In essence, we tell ourselves that if we’re not being perfect , then we are failing.

​With no inbetween.
And when we think we’re failing, what happens?

Guilt.
Frustration.

Generally feeling annoyed and pissed off that (yet again) we’ve not managed to stick to our diet.

And to compound this, we then reinforce our lack of belief in ourselves to EVER get a grip with our eating.

It might sound trivial at first, but reframing how we think about and label food, is a game changer.

STOP telling yourself that you’re “an all or nothing person”. 

It’s not true and is just a convenient story you tell yourself for why you often struggle.

STOP thinking in black and white.

Good or bad.
Healthy or unhealthy.

START paying attention to the words you use - our language is a window to the brain, and our brains are the things that control or behaviours.

                                               START seeking small improvements.

Can you eat foods that contain less calories or sugar , more often? (Rather than all the time).

Can you eat natural, whole foods a bit more of the time?

​Basically, can you focus on micro- improvements and small progressions, rather than trying to hit a home run!?

2)  Track your food & habits 

What gets measured gets managed.

In other words, if you track something over a period of time, you become more aware of the details behind it.

If you weigh yourself every week, you’ll know for sure whether you’re losing , maintaining or increasing.

If you check your bank balance every week or month, you’ll know whether you’ve got more, less, or the same amount of money as before.

And you’ll also know where you’re spending too much.

These analogies are PERFECT for taking control of what goes in your mouth.

If you track your food and drink intake, and also record one or two comments about anything that triggered an emotional eating episode, you’ll be able to analyse what needs to change.
The second benefit of logging your food, is that you simply end up eating less junk.

Knowing that you have to write it down and see it on paper, means you’re less likely to eat it in the first place.

Infact, research studies have proven time and time again, that by writing down your food intake, you consume less calories.

Simple.

Takes 3 minutes max on an evening.

Proven to work.

Yet so few people do it!

In our program we have a simple tool called a P.A.L (Personal Accountability Log) which is used to log meals, fluid intake, a space to log any comments or thoughts for the client, and a space for their coach to record any comments or suggestions.

But even if you just write down what you eat for a week in a basic notebook, I guarantee you’ll reap the rewards.

Or if you prefer using your phone, apps like MyFitnessPal are great too.

​The method you use, is far less important than just doing it! (nudge nudge) :)

3)  Accountability 

Habits take time to build.

Willpower can get us started, but it’s never enough to keep us going, and it's very rarely strong enough to keep us in track when our motivation and energy levels are low, and the lure of (another) take away and entire bottle of wine is calling.

Accountability is what people are actually buying when they hire a Personal Trainer. 

It’s certainly not the quality of the workout - it’s having someone to keep an eye on them, give them a pep talk when needed (or a gentle kick up the arse for some people!), and to be “on their team” as they go on their journey of developing better, sustainable, lifelong habits.

When you’re accountable to someone else, you are ‘forced’ to keep more of your attention on your goal and your habits.

Cool Story >>> Sarah, who started our 8 week transformation last year (and lost 19lbs in the process), said this about the accountability part of the program

“Having to account to you guys is a definite help and something I’ve never done before.
The food diary is great , after a blow out in Amsterdam I went back to the diary and followed week one again.

It has definitely changed my outlook, and in particular alcohol (wine) I now only drink on my 2 days off and enjoy it so much more as it feels like a treat/ reward for all the hard work .“

Her amazing body transformation, and shift in her mindset didn’t just happen though a bunch of workouts - it happened by embracing the idea that working with her dedicated Personal Support Coach, she would spend more time “on track” than “off track”.

SUMMARY

1. Stop labelling food or your behaviour as “good” or “bad”. 
2. Focus on IMPROVEMENTS rather than PERFECTION.
3. Track your food for two weeks. 
4. This will help you identify where and when you wander off track, aswell as literally make you eat less of the crap (as research has proven).
5. Be accountable to someone. 
6. Having someone to keep you focussed, and REfocus you if you do wander off track, is arguably the most powerful thing you can do for re-programming your mind and hardwiring new habits into your DNA.