Tip Me Tuesday: Stop The Broken Record

By Naomi Rabon, NW Fitness Team Trainer

Do you get tired of hearing yourself say the same thing – the exact same thing over and over again every year, or maybe every week, or – for some, even every day when it comes to food choices, or portion sizes?

You are not alone.

OVER-INDULGENCE CLUB

Welcome to the club, my friend, you are not alone. Nod your head if any of the following sound familiar:

• At the start of the day, you promise yourself (maybe even pinky swear) you will make better food choices today, or only eat healthy foods today.
• You will stay away from fast food for an entire week, or maybe even just for one day if it is a daily habit - you swear off a favorite junk snack food: chips, nut or trail mix, crackers, or other sweet, salty, crunchy “mindless” indulging habits.
• Late night grazing/snacking - going back for seconds or other oversized food portions  - swearing off alcohol for any length of time.

EMPTY PROMISES

How long does this typically last for? Be honest with yourself. Are you able to keep your promise to yourself for the length of time you intended to? Or does it last just a few days, then you go back to your “old ways” and comfort food habits? Or maybe you can’t even make it through the day without caving?

FIX YOUR OVERINDULGING BROKEN RECORD

If you keep having the same food obstacle issues over and over and over again, how can you fix this seemingly never-ending broken record? It won’t happen overnight, but here are some steps you can take to help end the unhealthy, self-destructive cycle by learning from past obstacles so that you can finally progress forward.

1. Learn Your Triggers If you have gone through overindulging cycles followed by self-inflicted strict rules, only to break those rules and repeat this song and dance over and over, you first have to retrace your steps to learn what your initial triggers are that send you into this tailspin. What is it that “sets you off” in the first place? What is your mindset like when you set these daily nutritional goals, these parameters, these “rules?” Do you already have a preconceived notion that you are going to fail, or “break” at some point during the day, or during the week? Or do you whole-heartedly commit to these goals every time but succumb to temptation the longer time passes?

2. Be Prepared Once you learn what your triggers are, and what your mindset is like when you’re setting your daily nutritional goals and at what point during the process you start to doubt yourself, start to feel “weaker” and realize you are heading toward falling off the wagon and giving into temptation, going back to unhealthy habits of indulgence? If you know that you can last about 3 days of being strict with your nutrition, and have no problems being disciplined for about 3 days before the cravings start or hunger sets in or you start thinking more and more about the foods you are trying to stay away from, you know that 3 days in you have to be prepared for the cravings or hunger. Have a plan in place to help see you through this 3-day plateau. For example, if you crave salty sweet snacks or chocolate, you can have lightly salted rice cakes with Maranatha chocolate hazelnut butter smeared on top along with an nPower Nutrition Chocolate Truffle Whey Isolate protein shake to wash it down. Or for cupcake, muffin or cookie cravings, you can make a batch of any of the fit-friendly recipes in the Nicole Wilkins Recipe Section of the website. There is typically a healthier version of any food out there, so making small swaps with healthier options of your favorite treats is a great way to make progress without feeling deprived of your favorite foods and treats.

3. Learn From The Past We’ve all hear the now-famous phrase “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.” I’m not sure I have much more to add to this to bring this point across to you more clearly. The only thing I can think to add is that – and this may sound harsh – if you keep repeating the same unhealthy cycle over and over and over again for years on end, it must mean that at some level, you really don’t want to make changes. If you did truly want to change your behavior, you would learn from your past obstacles, you now the ones you keep repeating over and over, and do something different so that you wouldn’t have the same outcome that keeps you from reaching your goals.

You’ve lived with yourself your entire life. You know what your strengths and your weakness are. You know what your goals are and you know what your stumbling blocks are. If you are tired of being stuck in the same place with your nutritional obstacles, do something different. Don’t continue trying to solve these problems by yourself in the same way that you have been. Get help. Be open to a different approach. Find support.

Stop being so emotionally attached to your bad habits and other things that are keeping you stuck where you are. Let 2021 finally be the year you break free of these nagging behavioral habits that are getting you nowhere so that you can finally get past them and move on to the next level in your health and fitness!

ABOUT NAOMI RABON
One of the trainers on Nicole’s elite NW Fitness Training Team, Naomi is a certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is a NPC Figure competitor who has been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 12 years.