1)      If you don’t think you should eat it or are trying not to – don’t buy it!

This is tougher if you have kids but the concept here is to set up a barrier – the best one being to keep it out of your house. If you know there aren’t any cookies in the cupboard, you’re less likely to go looking, but if you do go looking, you won’t sabotage yourself in a moment of weakness. If that moment of weakness doesn’t pass, then consider going out and getting a treat – but get a single serving and don’t bring home extras for later.

You may need to purge your house and clean out your cupboards.  If you don’t, you’re very likely setting yourself up for sabotage.

2)      Consider smaller sizes

Does the large really give you more satisfaction? I personally find that desserts have diminishing returns. Each bite is a little less of a reward than the last. My satisfaction with a mini blizzard is far more than a large because when I’m done. I don’t have that, “ugh, I ate too much feeling,” and I don’t have a very strong feeling of psychological guilt. Take a smaller serving size to start. If you really want more, consider having more. This attitude and approach should help to decrease feelings of deprivation.  Too much “feeling” of deprivation will make most people more likely to break down.

3)      Eat with mindfulness

Enjoy your food. Isn’t that the supposed reason that you’re eating “too” much? Because you like food? Then act like it. Don’t just plop down on the couch in front of the tv and ravenously shove food in your mouth as fast as you can. You’re eating like an addict. Consider not eating in front of the tv or with other distractions. Take time to chew your food and actually taste it.

4)      Don’t eat desserts or ”cheat” foods that aren’t your favorite.

Why waste your time with desserts that aren’t even that good? Most desserts taste like every other dessert – SWEET! There’s often very little character or flavor other than mostly sugar. We’ve all had the experience of taking a bite of a dessert and thinking, “this isn’t even that good,” but we eat it anyway. WHY? Don’t eat it. Throw it away or just stop. Don’t waste useless calories on desserts you don’t even care about. Your feelings of deprivation will be very little if you don’t eat a mediocre dessert. If you’re going to eat it, you should really like it.

5)      Use the “Broccoli Test”

Do you ever eat because you’re bored? Of course you do. We all do. Food is fun. It’s social, and it can change our mood. But have some self-awareness and some body-awareness. At least know how to tell what hunger actually is. If you feel the desire to eat, particularly between meals, ask yourself how you’d feel about eating some broccoli right now. If you’re completely uninterested, you’re probably not hungry and are more likely looking to fill a void with food.

6)      You need distractions.

Distractions are important in the game of temptation. In the famous Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, children’s predicted future success had a significant correlation with their ability to delay gratification.  It appeared strongly that children with the ability to distract themselves did better.  The children would distract themselves by fidgeting or rocking in the chair, etc.  The children that sat and stared at the treat, fixating on it, tended to cave.  Teaching distraction strategies to children helped them to increase their ability to delay gratification.

7)      Exercise

It’s true that weight loss largely comes down to diet. You can eat calories much faster than you can burn them off.  However, exercise still has many benefits. Of particular benefit in the dietary strategy is the distraction element of exercise. It’s a distraction from food, a time where you can’t eat. Exercise also tends to make people feel more committed to their food plan because they don’t want to “waste” the hard work from exercising.

8)      You will feel differently about food when you’re full compared to when you’re hungry.

Use that strategy. Don’t buy your groceries when you’re hungry. You’ll be much less tempted.  Use the strategy of distraction and delay, and commit to eating healthy foods FIRST. Then, if you still want less healthy options, consider eating them AFTER, not FIRST.

For more on some of the physiology about this, check out my blog post on controlling cravings.

9)     Make it a game or competition

Create a competition with a friend or group.  Do a challenge – it can jumpstart your progress and give you a more socially acceptable excuse to decline food you don’t want while feeling less rude.

10)   Be realistic

Don’t look at before and after pictures from supplements that are trying to sell you something.  Seriously, don’t look at them.  Ignore them.  They’re dumb. Every single time the fine print says, RESULTS NOT TYPICAL.  It takes time.  As you incorporate these strategies you will get better and better at them. Over time these strategies start to become part of who you are, part of your identity.  You will be surprised at how much smaller the barriers feel. The once uphill climb will feel much more like a coast. But it takes time.

Bonus Tip: Add before you subtract

Add in healthy lifestyle changes before trying to take out a bunch of unhealthy choices. It psychologically helps in not feeling deprived. For example, if you set a goal to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, it may automatically reduce your soda intake. Adding a salad before dinner doesn’t have to be about decreasing your dinner portion but it might naturally do so.

Following these strategies will not make you lose 10 pounds in 10 days, but they will create a sustainable, long-term strategy to keep you moving in the right direction, avoid yo-yoing, and create continued success while minimizing feelings of deprivation and sacrifice.