by Brian Cannone
Here is a fascinating little nugget of information – when people are told that they cannot have something to eat they crave that food more than ever before. This is why so many strict dieters suddenly fall off the proverbial wagon and go on a binge of fast food, cakes, sweets, and soda. They have been told for weeks, months or even years that they CANNOT have all of this forbidden food, and so they let go with a real bang and eat it all at once.
Why do we do these things? After all, if you are reading this it is likely that you are involved in fitness modeling or bodybuilding shows, and you know that you too will eat the stuff that puts on unwanted fat or pounds. Why do we eat that stuff?
We just looked at the temptation created by making something forbidden, but we didn’t acknowledge that resistance is also part of the “fuel” behind an explosion of binge eating as well. If you forbid yourself ANY white flour or white sugar it is far more likely that you are going to seriously overindulge in the stuff at some point in the future. The same can be said of those burgers and fries, a big pizza, and all of those wonderful salty meats sold at delicatessens.
We eat these things because they are forbidden and because we deny ourselves foods that we really love to taste and enjoy. So, if you know which of these foods are prone to making you get fat, go ahead and put them on the list of things that you ARE allowed to eat. Right away you will find that you are disinclined to toss them into the grocery cart or pull into the fast food place to eat.
The next thing to do in order to overcome the temptations of foods that make your work life and competitiveness more challenging is to create a visual image that “ruins” that craving. For instance, you see that soft serve ice cream stand and think about grabbing a large cone…create a visual in your mind of the cellulite it might put on your glutes or thighs…not only does that make you cringe in fear of losing work, but it also makes you realize that you don’t need that treat, and that it is only that you wanted it.
It is hard to fend off the foods we love, but when we acknowledge their real costs it makes it easier to turn the other cheek and head for the fruit and vegetable bin in the fridge!
