How do I control myself around sweets & junk food?

“I can’t control myself around sweets & junk food”

Does this sound familiar.? You wake up and start the day with a really clean breakfast. Maybe it is something like a smoothie or a bowl of Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit. Then lunchtime comes around and you opt for a salad with some protein, minimal dressing. You’ve been good with your snacking. Maybe an apple or a couple carrots. Dinner time comes around and all of a sudden The kids are home from school or maybe someone in the house is home and they brought home a box of fresh donuts. You tell yourself you can’t have those. Donuts are bad and you’re trying to eat healthy. So you say get those away from me or hide them because you can’t control yourself with sweets. You  have dinner but you’re still thinking of those donuts. you know that they’re there. you eat a very clean dinner, maybe some potatoes, maybe some steak but not something you really want. Then the donuts are out again, it’s time for nightly dessert. You think, fine,  I’ll just have one bite. then one bite turns into one donut and then it’s so good, it  turns into two donuts and then maybe three donuts – who knows they’re really good. Now you feel awful, you have now ruined your  entire day of progress. Now, you have to restart again, perhaps there are some very negative thoughts you’re thinking,  you blame yourself and you blame the donuts. 

The donuts aren’t the problem really are they? They’re just some flour, some sugar, they’re not very nutritious but they do taste pretty good. The problem perhaps stems from your mindset of telling yourself you can’t have any,  this restriction of a “bad” food. More importantly, you have spent the entire day in a restrictive mindset. Your meals have not been satiating nor have they been enough to satisfy your body and potential cravings. 

 Eating healthy does not necessarily mean eating less, you need to fuel yourself with the proper foods, the proper nutrition to make yourself feel good and satisfied. There is no good or bad food. There is just food. There are some foods that fill you better than other foods but all foods are oh OK (relatively, I’m not saying let’s eat trans fats & high glucose corn syrup, let’s be reasonable). If you can properly balance your day of food, not restricting it from the moment you wake up, then at the end of the day if you truly want a donut, it will not hinder your progress ( of course you can make a more nutrient dense version of everything). The most harmful thing is the restriction and inner dialogue around food. 

If you have eaten properly throughout the day, you can control yourself. If you’re satisfied and have enjoyed your meals, there is no, for lack of better terms, FOMO. So my point being is that labeling foods as good or bad is very counterproductive to yourself at the end of the day, all food exists in life and there will always be situations at social events where you can’t walk around blindfolded so you don’t see the food. It’s important to learn not to demonize foods, but to live within the mindset that there is room for all foods  in your diet.  prioritize eating foods that make you feel good mentally and physically. Every so often allow yourself to have some fun and enjoy life. Remember this is a lifestyle, you could never maintain a diet that has you living your life in fear or guilt of food (what fun is that). Food is a great thing.

So, let’s start with whole, nutrient dense foods to feel our best. Because you can do this, you can make a change. You just need to start.