Don't Say It: The Brownies are NOT in Charge!

I caved. I ate that brownie. I couldn't resist." These are not my confessions. Sometimes, this is what I hear people say when they're trying to lose weight. Be it brownies or fries or whatver. But one thing that does far more damage than the eating: the attitude!

EVERY time you talk about "caving in, giving in, giving up, losing the battle, being unable to resist temptation," you are doing one thing you really, really don't want to do: programming the message into your brain that you are unable to lose weight. You're surrendering your fate to a damned brownie!

Now, I don't actually give a flying rodent's bottom whether you eat that brownie or not. You miss the point if that's what you're focused on. It's not the one brownie, or 2 or even 5, although you'll probably pack a couple pounds on for the 5...but it's not about whether or not you eat said food item. It's about CONTROL, responsibility, and your ability to stand up to brownies.

Aside: if you do eat that brownie, but you declare it a CHOICE, then you haven't given up your fate to an inanimate (although perhaps tasty) hunk of flour and sugar, you know? Are you in control, or is Keebler? Who really has your best interests at heart?

See, the thing is, there is fallout for feeling like you just "can't" resist, too. You tell yourself time and again that you're weak, you're lazy, you disgusting and unworthy, you've got no "willpower" or whatever. You keep telling yourself this garbage, and it's just a short trip to believing it and living it!  'Cause why even bother trying if you're doomed to failure anyway? You may be miserable and fat, but you'll have a mouthful of chocolate on the way down? Ugh. Who wants that?

And it's not just eating the self-loathing impacts.  Who is going to be revved up for exercise, for example: the person who sees themselves as disgusting, gross, needing redemption and is looking at exercise as a punishment, or the person who feels in control, good, and wants to be healthier? You have pain versus pleasure plain and simple... my money's on the pleasure.

That self-loathing spiral is what turns a couple of off-plan eating incidents into a 2-month weight-gain extravaganza, how much you wanna bet? It's WAY in your best interests to make this simple shift of approach.

Is making changes hard? Sure. To a point. (It's usually much less hard than we expect.)  But it's a choice. Initially, new behavior is somewhat uncomfortable. Personally, I think it's worth the discomfort I suffered developing new habits to lose the tonnage. Your mileage may vary.

But no matter what you decide, about your brownie or what's an acceptable size for your arse long-term, please don't whimper about giving in to irresistible forces, ok? While it could potentially appear that way to the casual observer, truth is that there isn't a tractor beam from your mouth to the brownie plate.

You DO create your own life. Give yourself the gift of not abandoning your personal control to a hunk of food, for goodness sakes. Take responsibility on every level by acknowledging your DECISONS are running the show, not the irresistible forces of brownie magic. Program the message instead that you ARE in control, you decide what you eat, and you decide what efforts you're making for losing weight. Stay in the driver's seat and you can make it to your destination, sparky. It's worth the trouble!