How to Easily Stick to Our Healthy Eating Goals

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Why is it so hard to stick to our healthy eating goals?  We want to reach and maintain our feel-good weight. We know we feel so much better when we eat well.  So why do we sabotage our healthy eating goals time and time again?

You might think that you lack willpower or that you have no self-control, but the truth is willpower is limited and will only help you stick to a healthy eating plan for so long.

Eating Well Blockers

In order to stick to our healthy eating goals more consistently, we need to learn to tap into brainpower versus willpower by identifying and shifting our Eating Well Blockers. (stressors, subconscious blocks and default habits)

These Eating Well Blockers keep us stuck in the Chronic Stress Loop so that we continually abandon our healthy eating plan over and over again

 The Chronic Stress Loop

There are five main categories of Stressors that throw us into the Chronic Stress Loop:

While some stressors might seem trivial compared to others, no matter what causes the stress, it negatively impacts us and activates the stress response.

Once we are in a stressed state, it becomes our brain’s primary goal to get us back into a relaxed state as quickly as possible.  Our brain will activate our Subconscious Blocks which are thoughts and beliefs based on our values and core experiences that help us justify why it’s okay to abandon our healthy eating goals. (sometimes these thoughts activate cravings)

Even though we aren’t always aware of these thoughts, they control between 80-90% of our conscious actions. Once the stress and subconscious blocks are activated, we rely on our default habits to soothe ourselves and find relief.

If you are here, then your Default Habit is likely overeating or not prioritizing habits that support your healthy eating goals like meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking healthy meals, exercise, self-care and sleep.

If the stress has been occurring for a while, an Unwanted Manifestation like extra weight or guilt for not sticking to your healthy eating plan or goals begins to present itself.  The extra weight or guilt becomes an additional stressor and you get stuck in The Chronic Stress Loop.

Stuck in the Chronic Stress Loop 

Let’s say we consciously decided to give up sweets.

• We want to make the change; we know it is better for us.
• We do great on Monday and Tuesday.
• But by Wednesday our willpower disappears and we find ourselves reaching for the cookies.
• Then we are disappointed in ourselves for once again not sticking to our healthy eating goals.
• This disappointment becomes a new stressor which in turn increases our stress and keeps us stuck in The Chronic Stress Loop.

If eating food to soothe our stress, even if it is low-level stress like the monotony of our work or chores, is the easiest and fastest way to get us back into a relaxed state, our brain will activate the subconscious thoughts and beliefs that drive our conscious decision to eat the food.

Subconscious Beliefs: 

• I can’t handle this.
• I am not good enough.
• I never have enough time.

Subconscious Thoughts:

• I deserve a cookie.
• One won’t hurt.
• I’ll be “good” tomorrow.

Brainpower vs. Willpower

It’s not that you have no self-control, it’s that resisting the urge to eat the cookie is increasing your stress and activating sabotaging thoughts and beliefs.  If your default habit to reduce stress is eating, then your brainpower will win out over willpower every single time.

Break Out of The Chronic Stress Loop

In order to start breaking out of The Chronic Stress Loop, we need to identify our personal Eating Well Blockers and reprogram our brain with peaceful eating habits, thoughts and beliefs that keep us on the path to our feel-good weight.

However, there’s no one right way to do it.  That’s why taking the time to identify your personal Eating Well Blockers is so important for sustainable weight loss that doesn’t rely on willpower.

Want to learn more about what breaking out of The Chronic Stress Loop could look like for you?  If so, then go here to get FREE instant access to >>> The 3 Keys to FINALLY Lose Weight for Good Masterclass.  where I share specific examples

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