Appetitie Control

One of my biggest challenges is controlling what I want to eat. I start off the day thinking logically about my food intake and then somewhere in the course of the afternoon I find myself looking for a snack. I found if I considered whether the food would bring me closer to my goal (fit and trim) or keep me from accomplishing my goal (poor health) it made it easier to make a better decision. I also found if I kept in mind my overall eating routine and whether the snack would match the routine (fruit versus candy), it lead to better choices. The other thing I noticed was if I asked myself "can I eat a full meal?" and the answer was "no" then I probably wasn't as hungry as I thought and could wait until the next meal. Another motivator to making good decisions related to how eating had improved my overall quality of life such as sleep quality, skin tone, fewer colds, headaches, etc. If I reminded myself of these benefits it was helpful and usually pushed me in a positive direction. Despite all these "brain games", as I call them, every so often I make a poor decision but I have found that I cannot think of one overindulgence as the end of the world. If I follow up my "food indiscretion" with a number of quality meals and snacks the likelihood of a complete reversal of my overall good nutrition is pretty slim. As many behavior-related support groups chant you have to take "one day at a time".