Mental Repatterning
Talking to yourself is helpful as you choose each item less and less frequently. Think: “instead of another piece of bread I’ll have a vegetable.” Or “Instead of another cup of coffee this time I’ll have a cup of hot water.” Remind yourself hourly if necessary “I want to weigh __________ pounds.” Remember some of the action steps you can take to help you get there. The moments do pass. A helpful goal: Be pro-active rather than re-active. If you weren’t thinking of an item two minutes before seeing it you’re responding to a visual stimulus rather than an actual physical hunger.
Portion Size
Get rid of that oversized mug and pour your coffee into a regular-sized cup. Perhaps you’ll feel fine with a few segments of grapefruit; a few bites of coleslaw. As you lose weight and your stomach shrinks you should be filling up sooner and will require less of everything than you did when you were a bigger person.
Pick One No-Coffee Day
As item usage diminishes to once a day the next step might be to pick one no-coffee day and/or one no-bread day and/or one no-alcohol day and/or one no- __________ day. (Fill in your most frequently chosen item.) Writing your intention into your agenda book (or calendar) will be a reminder of what you’re trying to accomplish. If there are many items you choose more than three four times each week pick one at a time and practice not having it one day a week before moving on to the next item. For example Sunday could be a No-Coffee Day Wednesday a No-Bread Day and so on.
No Multiples
Another technique to aim for is No Multiples – no second cup of coffee no second drink not another piece of bread after the first and no second or third helpings even if it is Thanksgiving. Remember in a restaurant you’d never say to the waiter: “Maurice is there another chicken leg in the kitchen.”
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