Beat those summer temptations and stay in control of your weight

 

WE’RE heading into August and the “holiday season” has started (unless you’re reading this in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa!). This year is a bit different, of course, and many of us are not having the same sort of summer that we’ve had in previous years.

However, when we get to this time of year most of us tend to have very different behaviours than most of the rest of the year.

Our daily routine can be disrupted because of school holidays, for example.

It means we feel we’re losing control a little and I see it every single year at this time in Slimpod Club.

But it’s entirely normal.  Our minds have a habit of defaulting into previous summer holiday behaviour just because it’s that season.

It’s that feeling of falling off the wagon or losing the plot a bit – a general feeling of not being in control.

Even though many of us are having staycations our minds still default to previous “holiday” behaviours because summer is the trigger.

We get out of routine and our brain panics a little!

So I thought it might be a good time to give you a little help on how to get through all the temptations of summer and stay in control of your weight.

I’m sure you know the story – it’s almost as if your mind is saying “Woo hoo we’re on holiday and that means I have permission to eat anything I want – and lots of it!”

Then you get disappointed because you feel like you’ve lost control and you beat yourself up.

This time of year can be really difficult and create all sorts of challenges, concerns and anxieties about food and your weight.

Are you on the seasonal merry-go-round?

Most people coming to my Slimpod programme do so after years of unsuccessfully trying to lose weight and many have been on what I call a seasonal merry-go-round.

This is when you start dieting in January (after the Christmas over-indulgence) and that then lasts about a month until it gets too hard to stick to and that early burst of excitement and fabulous motivation goes down the drain.

Then you’re feeling a bit of a failure for the next few months until May/June comes and – yes, you know what’s coming – the next revolutionary, must-have summer diet is launched!

Then that lasts about six weeks until the kids break up or you go on your summer holiday (around now) and you just can’t keep it up because who diets on holiday?!

You feel deprived and fed up because everyone else is eating what they like and having fun. So rather than feeling rubbish you break the diet and blame your summer eating again on your own lack of willpower!

Then you limp along and the feeling of being a failure is reinforced. Suddenly those ads are screaming at you again – “Lose two dress sizes in time for those Christmas parties”!

You hop on because basically you’re losing it to put it all back on again over Christmas…and so it goes on!

I’m wondering if any of this sounds familiar?!

If you’re on a Slimpod programme, this yo-yo behaviour may well have stopped already.  You may be noticing you’re normalising your eating and you’re far more in control.

But if you’ve had a similar pattern of behaviour to the one above for many, many years – it is really hard to shift so please be gentle with yourself.

Understanding it’s happening is the important thing because this habit can be triggered when you’re not aware of it.

So here’s a few tips on how to stay in control over summer by getting some structure in your life!

How to handle summer eating and drinking

Summer throws you out of routine because there’s very little structure.   It also puts you into what I call a “summer diet trance state” –  this means you default to a very different state of mind.

Previously it would be: “l’ll just put my weight loss on hold and enjoy myself for a few weeks” kind of trance state!!

(I know there will be a lot of people nodding as they’re reading this and If you feel this is you – PLEASE wake up from that trance and shake yourself off! )

You don’t need to do this now because you’re not in that cycle anymore!   This is the EASIEST programme to continue with over summer and the secret is to get a little structure in your day.

It’s very simple and self-discipline comes with structure:

*Make a commitment to a goal.  It gives you purpose and direction.

*Continue to take 9 mins to listen to your pods and log your wins.

*Build in time in your day for some exercise – raise your heart rate for just 15 minutes a day or a bit longer If you can fit it in!

On my Lives this week I’ll be talking about the importance of getting into the right mindset for summer.

Join me on our public Facebook page on Tuesday evening at 7.30 pm, in our private Slimpod Club on Wednesday at 8pm  and on Thursday evening on Instagram at 7.30pm  (my Instagram is @sandraroycroftdavis)

If you’re not a Slimpodder already, here’s the nudge you need…

Please leave a comment below to let me know if you’re having an issue with the summer temptations and if you’re up for doing something about it!

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