My Everyday Tips for Weight Management Part 3: Know Yourself

Schedule

•  Mornings
  • Do you have a morning routine?
  • Do you leave early for work?
  • Do you eat breakfast?
  • Do you typically have time to sit down for breakfast or do you eat on the go?
  • Are your mornings busy getting kids out the door to school or daycare?
  • Do you have time to think about dinner, pull something out of the freezer, or throw something in the slow cooker?
  • If your mornings are chaotic, what changes can you make so your mornings run smoother?

I am not a staunch advocate for breakfast. If you are hungry, then you should eat something. If not, then wait until you feel hungry. If you find that breakfast really helps to fuel you for the day, then by all means, don’t skip it.

• Daytime
  • What does a typical day look like?
  • What do you normally eat for lunch? Is it preplanned or do you grab something quick or eat out?
  • What can you do ahead of time to insure you have healthy options available for lunch?

• Afternoon/evening
  • What is a typical afternoon/evening?
  • Do you sit down for dinner?
  • Do you have evening activities such as kid’s sports, church, community meetings, adult sports, etc?
  • How many days a week do you exercise?

Does anything in your schedule need to change so you can better care for your health? How can you plan ahead so that the chaos of life doesn’t control you and throw off your nutrition plan?

Environment

• Is your environment chaotic or calm?
• Do you let the chaos control you?
• Is it stressful or peaceful?
• If it is stressful, how do you cope?
• Is your environment organized or unorganized? An unorganized and messy space can cause stress and the inability to think clearly. How does a messy space affect you?
•  What are some things you can do to better cope or minimize the chaos?

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It takes intentionality to be successful. Over time your new behaviors will become second nature. Once you have trained yourself to live a healthy lifestyle. External circumstances will no longer dictate your actions.

Budget

• Something to keep in mind when making changes to nutrition and fitness is how much you can afford.
• What is your health worth to you?
• If needed, are you willing to sacrifice in some areas of the budget to make the necessary changes in other areas?
• What types of food do you currently buy? Where do you typically shop?
• Where can you buy the healthiest food within your budget?
• Is a gym membership is right for you? Do you need the accountability? Do you get bored working out at home?
• If the gym is not your thing or the budget doesn’t allow there are many effective apps, online streaming services, and lots of free workouts on YouTube.

Personality 

• Your personality type is one of the biggest factors when it comes to weight management. Everyone has a different approach and preference. Sometimes, we can work within our preferences. Other times, we need to change.
• Are you a planner or more spontaneous?
• Do you like structure or does it make you feel stifled?
• Do you like to track your calories or macros? Are you willing to weight and measure foods?
• Do you like to preplan meals or do you get bored?
• Does meal prep feel enjoyable or stressful?

If you are not interested in tracking, measuring, or weighing your foods, that is ok. You don’t even have to meal prep or meal plan if you don’t want to. Some people like a lot of structure. Others don’t. Regardless, it is good to create a plan that works for you, but still allows you to be successful.

I personally like the structure of tracking foods. I don’t always do it, but I don’t even mind weighing and measuring my food. I think I may have some control issues. haha!

Background

• Growing up, what was your family’s relationship with food?
• Was food used as a punishment or reward?
• Was food scarce?
• Did your family have structured meals or did they graze?
• Did you have to clean your plate before leaving the table?
• What negative or positive behaviors from your past contribute to your current behaviors?

Believe it or not, our family of origin plays a big role in our relationship with food. It is just something to be aware of.

Relationship with food

• What is your relationship with food?
• Do you live to eat or eat to live?
• Do you turn to food when stressed, bored, sad, or lonely?
• Are you an emotional eater?
• What are your food temptations? Are there certain foods that you should not buy because you can’t resist?
• What triggers make you want to eat when you are not hungry?

After keeping my weight off for several years, I thought I had conquered most of my bad habits. I remember taking my boys for Easter pictures when my oldest was 4 and my youngest was about 18 months old. The pictures are precious. The photo session was not so precious. If you have kids, I know you understand.

By the time the session was over, I needed a cold one. I headed straight to the nearest McDonald’s for a nerve-calming strawberry milkshake. As I was drinking the strawberry goodness, it hit me that I was drinking that milkshake purely for emotional reasons. That was the first time I was consciously aware that I was eating solely because of my emotions. I totally finished it though and enjoyed every sip.

I’m sure I had eaten my feelings many times before, but never realized it. Just knowing that stress affects me in that way, allows me to make better choices.

I hope this self-evaluation gives you some food for thought. Knowing ourselves and our triggers is a key factor in being successful with weight management.

Does any of this resonate with you? I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at jehardin75@gmail.com.

Blessings,

Joy