This Is Why Your Life Sucks
Article Round-Up: 10.22.23
Enjoy this week’s curated round-up of articles, podcasts, and more from the web to help you live a healthier, happier life.
Published This Week:
Takeaway: My first fitness show was my closing chapter on my past life and struggle with obesity. It was the epic conclusion of struggling with my weight and being constantly fearful of going back to that place. It was also the introduction of balance into my life.
Takeaway: The article talks about a time in the author's life when they were stuck in a rut with bad habits and no motivation.
The main point is that making small, intentional choices can help improve your life.
It also highlights how the internet can influence your identity and suggests that you can change your life by becoming someone who solves problems and shares valuable information with others.
Takeaway: This article talks about how life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes, we want everything to be stable and always getting better, but life is more like a cycle with ups and downs.
The article gives us eight tips for handling the tough times in the middle of those cycles.
These tips include not fighting change, focusing on what you can control, keeping up with daily routines, seeking help from others, and being flexible.
The main idea is that real strength comes from having different tools to handle life's challenges.
Reader Question:
How can I resist temptations and stay on track in social situations?
I’ll give you the exact plan I worked on with a client this week to help her navigate a robust social life.
We’ll split this into two parts: something to think about and things to do.
Insight and action.
Insight:
The key to long-term control in social situations is to learn how to differentiate between foods you want because you desire them, and foods you want because they’re there in front of you.
Actions:
Here is the plan we created for a client to maintain control and avoid overeating in social situations.
Create distance between you and the food.
Focus on socializing.
Keep your hands full.
Use empowered refusal.
Create Distance:
Studies have shown, the more physical distance between you and the food and the less you’re likely to eat.
Consider the effort involved in serving yourself right from the table.
Then consider getting up and walking to the kitchen counter.
Now think about walking into the other room to get more food.
Each subsequent scenario requires more effort, and thus, is less likely to happen.
Make the behaviors you want to avoid more inconvenient.
Be Social:
The purpose of social events is to connect with friends and family. The food is a supplemental part of the experience.
Often, we mistake the food as being the main event. To avoid overeating, focus on socializing with your friends.
The more you talk, the less you eat.
Keep Your Hands Full:
You sit down on the couch at a friend’s house to socialize. On the coffee table in front of you is a snack tray with an assortment of easy to grab foods: chips and dip, cheese and crackers, the full spread.
As you converse with your friends, you find that your hands consistently wander to the snack tray to grab nibbles in between speaking. Once you start, it feels impossible to start.
Instead, keep a glass of water or other beverage in your hands. Often, we just want something to do with our hands to feel more comfortable. Without a better option, we reach for the food.
Keep something in your hands to stop mindless eating.
Use Empowered Refusal:
Telling yourself you “can’t” have something leads to feelings of restriction and deprivation.
It also activates a unique psychological phenomenon called reactance—our innate desire to promote free will.
Psychological reactance is simple to understand. If you feel like you aren’t allowed to do something, then you’ll likely eat more of it to prove that you’re still in control.
To combat this response, swap the word “can’t with “don’t.”
When you speak as if you “don’t” do or eat certain things, you aren’t taking away the power to decide—you’re embracing it. This reduces or even eliminates the feeling of being restricted, and the cravings that follow.
Leverage the identity of the person you want to be.
P.S. Don’t forget to submit your reader question by replying to this email! Then, keep an eye out each week for my response.