"Decision making is easy when your values are clear." — Roy Disney
Today's blog is coming to you a bit later than usual because my husband and I are currently in Colombia, vacationing and visiting family.
While I love many things about this country, the food isn't really one of them.
The majority of the traditional dishes are very starchy and loaded with fat, which of course is delicious...but not exactly what I would describe as healthy.
So whenever we visit, there is a strategy that I use to help me stick to relatively healthy eating habits, while also creating space for some guilt free indulgences.
This strategy come from the 4-P framework (a planning tool that I teach inside the Empowered Eating Blueprint) which is made up of 4 "P's" that make healthy eating easier.
And the "P" that I rely on most when traveling is: Pre-Decide.
Have you ever gone to the grocery store while hungry AND without a shopping list? If so, I'm guessing you didn't walk out with a bag of spinach and a carton of egg whites...
Most women think that they lack discipline or willpower, when the reality is that they set themselves up for failure by relying on discipline and willpower too much.
Making healthy choices while you're tired, stressed out, famished, surrounded by cheese...isn't easy, for anyone.
Which is why you need to get in the habit of making decisions, in advance, with your future self in mind.
For example, I know that if we go out to eat there won't be many options for vegetable rich meals.
So, I pre-decide that when we go out to eat, I will:
Choose the leanest protein option available
Have ONE starchy carb serving (most meals here will have 2-3)
Eat slowly and stop before I reach fullness
Cook breakfast at our Airbnb (where I can get in more fruits and vegetables)
Pre-deciding can also look like:
Planning out your meals for the week
Looking at a restaurant menu online before you go
Setting a limit for how many treats you'll have in a week
Setting a limit for how many drinks you'll have in an evening
So, if you've be struggling to stick your New Year's Resolution of eating healthier and you think that it's because you "have no discipline",
Chances are it isn't lack of discipline that's the issue, it's a lack of advanced decision making.
Because waiting until you are HANGRY and BURNT OUT after an exhausting work day to decide what you'll eat for dinner and then expecting yourself to make "perfect" eating choices,
Is like waiting until midnight on December 24th to do your Christmas shopping and then expecting to find the "perfect" gift for everyone on your list.
It's not going to happen.
Instead, you will resort to whatever is fast and easy.
Which means everyone will be getting socks and candles...again.
So, just like your loved ones would appreciate a well thought out gift, your future self would appreciate having those tough decisions already made for her.
Now, the strategy of pre-deciding only works IF you follow through with your decision...
And that isn't always easy, especially when the environment or the people around you don't encourage that decision.
Which is why in addition to having a toolbox of strategies, you'll also need to develop a set of skills that will allow you to implement those strategies, even when you are facing challenging circumstances.
And that just happens to be what we do inside of the Empowered Eating Blueprint. 😉
Want to be notified the next time EEB opens up for enrollment?
Register HERE to get on the waitlist!
Comentarios