No Last Suppers [Ep. 75]

This is the Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well podcast. I'm Lisa Salsbury. And this is episode 75. No last suppers. Welcome to Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well; the podcast for women who want to lose weight, but are tired of counting and calculating all the food. I'm your host, Lisa Salsbury. I'm a certified health and weight loss coach and life coach, and most importantly a recovered chronic dieter. I'll teach you to figure out why you are eating when you aren't hungry, instead of worrying so much about what you are eating. Merry Christmas and happy new year. I hope you had a lovely holiday with your family and that you were enjoying this week. As a sort of off week in between the two holidays, depending on what you celebrate. Last year, the episode that was right before Christmas, I shared one of my favorite Christmas traditions that I do with my kids. And that is the way I label their gifts under the tree. I'm recording this episode before Christmas. So I have no idea how this year's code is going to work out, but I haven't put proper names on my kids gifts under the tree for like 10 years now. I always use some sort of code. You can go back and listen to the beginning of episode 22, to hear some of the random things I've done from number codes, to things about their birthdays, Scrabble tiles, Last year I did a Buzzfeed quiz, but this year I convinced them. I just didn't have time to come up with Dawn. We've had several out of town. Weekends. This fall with a couple of my nephew is getting married plus bridal showers that we traveled for. And then I've got my own son's wedding coming up this weekend on the 30th in Houston. And plus we moved my mom from my childhood home. Into a smaller home, closer by me at the beginning of this month. And it's really been an incredibly busy month. So I just put actual names on the gifts. But here's the catch. They weren't actually for the person who they were labeled for. So the plan is, and like I said, I'm recording this before it happens. So hopefully cross my fingers at all turns out, but they will pick up a gift labeled for themselves. And then we will play that game or you read a story and you have to pass your gift every time someone says left or right. And then the gift they end up with is the correct tag for them. So hopefully they get it right. Hopefully it will be fun. And they will think that it's funny. But that's always the goal that they think it's fun and funny. Anyway, they love the whole code thing. And even though they're all seem to be getting way too old for it, they seem to still love it. So. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions. So this week though, is that weird week between Christmas and new years. Where normally it kind of feels like new year's is looming, right? Not for me this year, since we're on plane to Houston for the wedding, but for most of us. And for me, most years, I feel the new year coming. And I feel like here we go again. The pressure to make this year better than the last. And think about what resolutions might be set. This topic might sound familiar because I did talk about this same thing last year at the same time. But I think it's such a good reminder each and every year at this time I read through this episode and I was like, yep, that's what we're talking about again, because it's so critical. Because it's around this time that we start thinking about it and there's no new year's resolution, like a weight loss, one. A quick Google search showed me a survey where 23% of respondents. Said they wanted to live healthier, which was the top answer. Second was a personal improvement or happiness at 21% and third was lose weight. At 20%. So if you combine the live healthier group, since that's also what I coach on with weight loss, 43% of respondents could be helped by health coaching. That's actually a really high, crazy number. I've had clients tell me repeatedly that they are also emotionally stronger with the tools I give them in multiple areas of life. One woman said her husband noticed how much calmer she was with her kids and how much happier she seemed in general. So, I guess I helped with the second response too, but all that is to say that these goals are looming out there in a week or so. The majority of people have improving their health in some way, whether that includes weight loss or mental health or getting more active. You might be thinking along those lines as well. Right? This is the year. That is all fine and good. And I have no issue with new year's resolutions like this. Although I am always saying there's no better time than your Very next bite to start eating the way you want. I know for some, there is something about that new year that just gives them the push they need to start. And so that's okay too. Specifically now, if your goal is weight loss, here is the problem. When we feel like sluicing weight is on the horizon. Our brain goes into some scarcity thinking and we start to have thoughts, like, well, I better eat this now while I can, or this will probably be the last time I get to have carbs for a while. Or I better enjoy food while I still can. We start to get all those diet mentality, thoughts creeping back in, even if you've been working hard to let go of them and to rewire your brain. I'm always talking about strategies to reframe those and talk back to your brain. And we need to do that here with these thoughts about the new year as well. Because here's the thing. You do not need a last supper. You do not need to feel like everything is going to change and you will no longer be able to enjoy the foods that you like. That is your past diet trauma talking. Of course, you think that you better eat this now while you can, because you've never been on a diet before where stuff wasn't off limits. Of course you think this is the last time you're going to eat carbs because that's the thing you always cut out to lose weight in the past. Of course, you think you better enjoy food while you can, because everyone knows diet food doesn't taste good. Right. You know, you're going to feel terrible and have some sort of sugar withdrawal symptoms. All this is just again, that past diet mentality, past diet trauma, even talking. And it makes sense, right? Because of misery is coming. We need to live it up now. This is a learned behavior and it comes tup time and time again for chronic dieters or even just those who are constantly thinking you should do something about this weight, because I've talked to some listeners who tell me they haven't so much as tried tons of different diets like I have, or using all the crazy diet apps to calculate their food. Like I have. But they just are constantly thinking I should lose this weight. My clothes don't fit. I should do something. And it's just taking up a lot of brain space. And that kind of thing also sounds to your brain. Like misery is coming. And so we tend to eat all the things this week. That's when I found it to be troublesome for me in the past was that week between Christmas and new years, because the fun of Christmas was over the gifts were opened. And I was just left with the drudgery of returning and exchanging all the clothes that didn't fit the kids. Put away the decorations and then the diet was coming. And my former dieting self would overeat and overeat that week. ANd I don't want this to happen to you. So first thing, hear me say again, there is no need for a last supper. Okay. Because the good news is that you do not need to completely give up your favorite foods. I still eat pizza, pasta, desserts. I incorporate all the fruit that I want. I eat sandwiches and cereal. What I don't do the majority of the time and what I teach you to do is to not overeat it. I heard Peter Attia say when we are in the over nourished camp, we have to reduce the intake. And I thought that was such a good way to put it. I generally use the phrase overeating, but a lot of folks feel like they aren't over eating per se because they assume, I mean like bingeing, like excessive binge eating or taking full platefuls and then having seconds. But just thinking about being over nourished could also mean you are getting too much of a good thing. You can overeat a nutritious dinner because if you are feeling full, instead of just eating too enough, you are likely over nourished or overeating. And that's what we are tackling with my program, with the concepts I'm teaching you here on the podcast and all of the things that I teach. You don't have to have a last supper because you aren't going to stop eating the foods you love. You are just going to stop eating them. In the amounts that your body doesn't love. If you think about how your body actually feels when you overeat. It's not great. You feel like your clothes are tight on the waist and maybe some cramping or just plain old pain. You feel full and heaviness in your body and you don't feel like you can move around or go for a walk. Incidentally, that's a good measure of full versus enough. So full on the hunger scale is getting into the 5, 6, 7 range. And enough is what we're aiming for, which is just positive three. If you eat just two enough or what I call a plus three on the hunger scale. You would be able to go for a short walk afterwards, if you're too full to walk your dog in the neighborhood for 15 or 20 minutes, you're over nourished. I've got whole episodes on the hunger scale. I revisited this topic in my back to basic series in October. So be sure you've listened to that, but briefly this is the tool we use to make sure we are hungry before we eat. And that we are getting to just enough at our meals and then stopping. When you come from the over nourished camp and then go to eating this way, where we wait for hunger. Uh, to tell us it's time to eat. And then eat justice satisfied. You will lose weight. It's honestly, as simple as that, we really can use our bodies to help us know how much food to eat. I'm not telling you, you need to learn about the hunger scale and implement it. Starting on Christmas day. But I am telling you. There is no need to entertain thoughts of scarcity about this being the last time you will be eating good food. I want you to eat good food, food that you like year round. So when your old diet brain is telling you to enjoy it while you can, you can just remind her, you'll enjoy it now and you'll enjoy it whenever you decide to plan it for yourself. New years is a great time to set some intentions for the year. And if losing weight or achieving a healthier lifestyle is top of your list as well. I'm all for it. And I know I can help you with that. But please don't use that as an excuse for this week to overindulge. Eat the foods that you want to eat, but just pay attention to your body and what she wants as well. And tell your brain there's no need for the panic. I am currently filling my January calendar and I have space for one more. One-on-one client schedule, a free coaching session with me for the week after I get back from this wedding. And we can discuss your goals where you currently are. And if coaching is a perfect fit for you, link to my calendar is in the show notes as always. Thanks for listening to the eat. Well think, well live well podcast and happy new year.