A patient recently asked me if my diet is perfect.
Perfect?
Well… I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing as one perfect diet, in the absolute sense. There’s only what works for me and my body and my goals and my life. And there’s what works for you and your body and your goals and your life.
Over the years, I have figured out what works for me, and whether I’m traveling or at home, at work, or it’s the weekend… I do a pretty darn good job of sticking to what works.
I simply can’t handle the swings in mood and energy that come from doing what doesn’t work.
But every now and then, I eat or drink something I know doesn’t work for my body. It’s like I get curious that maybe something’s changed and this time, my body will magically tolerate things she’s shown me 100 times in the past that she doesn’t tolerate.
Most recently, it was heavy whipping cream. There’s nothing inherently wrong with heavy whipping cream, but dairy and I don’t get along.
And then one day, I just wanted some. So I had some. And then I wanted more and more and more. Within two weeks, my waistband was tight, and I had to scrape my mood off the floor before going to the office. But I felt hooked. I still wanted heavy whipping cream.
I would wake up thinking about it.
I would wait for the lunch hour, when I could escape for a HWC latte.
And I could tell it was dragging me down, but I just couldn’t shake the want.
Fortunately, I’ve got two things that helped me turn things back around.
1. Tools
2. Friends!
When I need back on track, I use the exact same tools I give my patients. In Eat to Win, we call them Ninja tricks.
** I made a commitment to serve myself and sit at a table when consuming anything (but water).
** I did the inquiry on WHY I’m eating (or drinking) whatever goes into my mouth.
** I asked myself how I WANT to feel and whether or not this thing would take me towards it for a moment AND an hour AND a day or two. And I got honest about when it would set my way back an hour and/or a day later even when it gave me a boost of pleasure in the moment.
And I recruited the support of a friend. I called a friend that I knew would understand. He’s reliable as a compassionate listener, but cares enough to hold me accountable without letting me off the hook on my own priorities.
I told him how I’d slipped, how it was impacting me, and I declared a commitment to get back to what works – not for a week or two, but through the end of the year.
Halloween was last week. Maybe you had some candy and now feel haunted by dreams of “fun-size” Hershey bars.
If you’re struggling to get back on track with your diet (or on track for the first time), these three tools and the support of an accountability partner will help to steer you straight.