If you’re like most people, you may have slipped up with your nutrition over the weekend. It’s normal. It happens.
But if this is a recurring pattern for you — enough that you’re troubled by it — then I’d like to share a short but effective exercise you can try to help get to the bottom of it.
You see, overindulging on the weekend — or any time, really — doesn’t happen randomly or by accident. There’s always a reason for our behavior, and there are usually circumstances that lead to it. There’s also a cycle related to this behavior, and it goes something like this:
You’re feeling stressed, anxious or upset.
You overeat.
You feel guilty or ashamed for overeating.
You vow to do better.
You go all-in with an overly restrictive routine that isn’t sustainable.
You start feeling stressed, anxious or upset again …
…. And, the cycle repeats.
So here’s a little exercise you can do. I call it “Breaking The Cycle.”
The next time you have an episode of overeating (or drinking), follow these steps:
- Write down everything that was happening around you right before the episode happened. Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing/thinking/feeling?
- Now, go back in time a few hours and go through the same exercise. Write down as much detail as possible.
- Look for patterns and be curious about them.
If nothing jumps off the page, no worries. It took a long time to develop this behavior, and you’re not going to magically fix it in one day. Repeat this exercise a few times until you notice some common themes.
“Every time I have a work deadline, I reach for the wine …”
“Hmmm, every time my mom calls, I go straight for the ice cream …”
Once you identify your triggers, you can brainstorm some strategies for addressing them.
For example:
“After I turn in the work assignment, I’m going to grab a couple of dumbbells and hit a short workout to blow off steam …”
“After mom calls, I’m going for a walk to clear my head …“
“When I get home from work on Friday, I’m going to grab a book and soak in a warm bath for a while to unwind …”
Like I said, don’t be frustrated if it takes some time to identify your triggers and come up with some solutions. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that breaking the overeating cycle is simpler than you think.
