... if you want to.
So you really don't want that slice of cake, or piece of chocolate, or whatever has winked at you. But you crave it and your stomach needs that sweet treat. So what do you do?
My trick is to try and put myself off before I get too far into said craving. If you get it into your head that a certain kind of food is going to be disgusting, there is a high chance that you won't be tempted at all to want it. Which, in theory, should make it easy-peasy to eat healthily all the time if you wanted. The thing is remembering to do this. And how do you do this? Carry a reminder with you.
As I've mentioned several times, there is nothing stopping you from giving in to a craving if you can control yourself. Everything in moderation. And it is something that can keep your mind healthy as long as you don't beat yourself up over it.
But if you really want to be strict and increase your Willpower to it's absolute maximum strength, there are a couple of tricks to repel the mind.
First of all, a trick I learned in an old Slimming World meeting. Imagine biting into something, anything, and it is as sour as a lemon. Maybe bite into a lemon to retell yourself how sour they actually are. Now picture yourself biting into, say, a KitKat and puckering up as the sour spreads around your mouth. Imagine trying to swallow it and tasting the bitter flesh of the lemon at the back of your throat. Imagine wiping the tears away as you finally swallow a bite then go in for a second. And if you want to remind yourself of this daily, try carrying a lemon sticker in your wallet or have a little lemon keychain on your bunch of keys. I chose to have a lemon magnet however this remains at home, so ideally it's best to have something you can carry with you.
My personal trick of putting myself off something is a little more grim. I imagine myself biting into what I fancy and discovering an eyelash, some chopped up hair or, worst of all, half a pubic hair (depending on how extreme I'm feeling). I remember how the texture felt when I used to plait my hair as a kid and chew the end of it sometimes. And that scrapey, scratchy hairy feeling on my teeth would feel absolutely gross. And when I get that clear moment in my mind, and my teeth are on edge remembering the sensation, it puts me right off.
As I say, these are some techniques if you do want to put yourself off something, or make up your own techniques and get in touch to let me know how you do it!
Until the next post, Big Love xx