New Year Survival Tips for Food Addicts
Anyone who sabotages you is not a friend.
By Joan Kent, PhD
Happy New Year! New Year’s Resolutions are here, and obstacles are everywhere.
Christmas candy is now on sale till mid-January, when Valentine candy is then on display till February 14. February 15 it goes on sale. That takes us to March, when Easter candy appears — even though Easter 2022 is in mid-April. And so goes the year.
Everyone offers tips for sticking to resolutions. For example, ideas for quitting sugar may include — Do not take notes here! — subbing fresh fruit; adding honey to plain yogurt; using artificial sweeteners; swapping dark chocolate for milk chocolate; limiting sugar to desserts; weaning yourself off desserts by reducing the weekly number; swapping wine or spirits for high-sugar mixed drinks.
Those tactics don’t, and can’t, work for those of us who have food addictions.
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. True or not, instead change the situation.
Ask the waiter to remove the bread 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. (There’s an attention-grabber.)
Don’t worry — I’m not telling you to lie 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 trying to lose weight? Or addicted to sugar? Both reasons will bring out every form of sabotage your “friends” can serve up: “You’ll eat less tomorrow.” “You’ll exercise 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 must 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 works 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?
Motivation is not enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is optional. It also fades when life presents its daily challenges. In fact, it’s often the result of consistent action.
But using the above suggestions consistently can be transformational. Just do them.
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 Fix My 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.
