It’s 5 o’Clock Somewhere

We’re never more aware of the triggers that entice us to overeat (or drink too much) than when we’re trying to lose weight.

Temptation seems to be everywhere! There are mouthwatering treats on every street corner and lurking on every co-worker’s desk! It’s always somebody’s birthday (or cousin’s son’s bar mitzvah), or business trip to Sheboygan.

It’s gotta be 5 o’clock somewhere, for petessake!

One reason people find it so difficult to lose weight is that, sticking to an eating plan is great … until a special occasion comes up and your plan is thrown for a loop. Your routine is scrapped and all of a sudden you must improvise. You might be faced with a buffet table laden with fattening foods, or your travelling and a delayed flight means you’ve got hours to kill at the airport. What do you do?

If you’re secretly looking for a reason to “cheat” on your diet, you just found it.

There will always – and I mean always – be surprises that pop up along the way as you’re losing weight. If you’re not prepared (I don’t mean with baggies full of celery sticks in your purse; I mean mentally) you will allow yourself to be sucked in, justifying: “oh it’s just one little treat. I’ll get right back on my diet when I get home.”

But will you?

I fell into this trap thousands of times over the years. I told myself the same thing. And I almost never got right back on my diet when I got home. I used that trigger – that opportunity – as an excuse to break my promise to myself. Every time I did that I trusted myself a little bit less. Every time I did it I was even more convinced that I was not capable of doing anything other than caving to temptation.

I was wrong.

I am capable of doing just that. The reason? I know now that my long-term goals of living a healthy life – which I do by making good food choices and exercising regularly – are much more satisfying than that piece of chocolate cake on the dessert buffet (or whatever the temptation is).

Triggers are tough; they can trip you up or you can use them as an opportunity to flex your self-care muscles. And if you cave once and give in, no worries; pick yourself up, dust yourself off. Start back up where you left off.

There are no failures, only feedback.

This stuff’s hard. You gotta be prepared, but remember: you’re not alone; I’m right here to help you.

C’mon, we got this!