Sitting with Catherine as she received her chemo infusion, I soaked in all the happiness as we shared memories. She was our beloved nanny and helped us raise three girls for eleven years with a lot of laughter! But when I returned home, my thoughts shifted from joy to losing her someday, which made me feel incredibly sad.
I immediately dove into a bag of potato chips!
I was trying to numb the uncomfortable feeling of grief and somehow return to a more peaceful place. As you can imagine eating that way didn’t help in the long run. If you’re struggling with staying on track with healthy eating, keep reading. I’m about to share the secret to eating the way you should – for your genetics and health – instead of falling into daily pitfalls.
I was trying to numb the uncomfortable feeling of grief and somehow return to a more peaceful place. As you can imagine eating that way didn’t help in the long run.
DROP THE BLAME GAME
When we don’t do something we know we should do, we usually resort to blaming. We blame a life event (losing someone we love,) we blame others (usually parents or children,) and we blame ourselves.
At a personal development event, my friend looked me in the eyes and said, “Sue, you’re so hard on yourself.” It’s true. I’ve defaulted to blaming myself for most of my life – I’m not good enough, smart enough, funny enough, fit enough. This is pretty much like taking a punching bag to yourself daily. Not good. As Tony Robbins teaches, “Blame is a choice that doesn’t give you ANY benefits.” True that!
“Blame is a choice that doesn’t give you ANY benefits.” -Tony Robbins
DECIDE TO CHANGE
We must drop blame like a bad habit and decide to change. All decisions start with clarity. For example, my five days of pain off caffeine provided disturbing clarity: I was consuming too much of it for my health!
When you make a decision to change, you have two choices. You can change your life conditions (what you do or say), or you can change your perspective (your meaning.) You can even change both!
With coffee, I didn’t want to change what I did so well (drink caffeine!) So I started with changing my perspective. At first, I declared, “I don’t need to change my morning habit.” Then admitted, “too much of a good thing isn’t healthy.” Ultimately I landed on the truth: Coffee is not my identity; Health is my identity. I’m willing to change, so I’m not dependent on a morning cup of joe. Bam!
But, we often avoid change because it makes us feel uncomfortable. Sigh.
When you make a decision to change, you have two choices. You can change your life conditions (what you do or say), or you can change your perspective (your meaning.) You can even change both!
FOCUS ON PAIN AND PLEASURE
Humans avoid pain like the plague and instinctively move towards pleasure! Hello, potato chips! Bye-bye blues 🙂
Pain and pleasure are the two great motivators of human behavior. Turns out, pain motivates us more than pleasure. So the trick is to link pain to the right thing!
When you focus on pain – changing the way you eat, for example, eliminating dairy – you’ll avoid change because you’re focused on losing something. The secret is to unlink your pain association from eating the way you should and attach pain to staying the same – the current way you’re eating.
How is the current way you’re eating causing you pain? Sticky pounds, low energy, digestive distress, something else? What’s the worst possible outcome if you don’t consistently eat the way you should – for your genetics and health? Blow up the pain – make it massive. Maybe it’s envisioning yourself having to go out and buy larger clothes because nothing in your closet fits anymore. The key is to find something that creates enough pain so you’ll avoid it like the plague!
Once you find your motivating pain, place it behind you – like a stick jabbing you in the back. For me, my stick is digestive pain. When I eat, I focus on the digestive distress both dairy and gluten create and leave them off my plate. This is how you get the pain to motivate you in the right direction – towards your desired goal – health and happiness.
You can also use pleasure to motivate you in the right direction by enlarging your desired goal and placing it in front of you – like a dangling carrot. I do this during killer workouts in my basement. I think of me and my husband hiking, biking, and exploring the most beautiful, profound destinations around the globe together. It keeps my eye on the prize –vibrant health!
Pain and pleasure are the two great motivators of human behavior. Turns out, pain motivates us more than pleasure. So the trick is to link pain to the right thing!
JUST DO IT
Nothing happens until you drop blame and change. Just do it! 🙂
What can be your stick?
What’s a PAINFUL thing you want to avoid? Place that behind you.
What can be your dangling carrot?
What’s a PLEASURABLE thing you’re after? Place that in front of you.
Focus on the pleasure you’ll feel once you achieve what you want and jab yourself with the massive pain you’ll experience if you don’t do what it takes to live your ideal life. It’s incredible how fast you’ll turn what you should be doing into ‘I must, or else!’
Eating the way you should – for your genetics and health becomes second nature.
Pitfalls never go away, but they do become easier to get out of and avoid altogether.
#WeAreInThisTogether
About the Author: Dr. Sue
Sue McCreadie, MD (aka Dr. Sue), is a Pediatric Physician and Breakthrough Coach for Midlife Mamas. For over two decades, she’s helped thousands achieve vibrant health as a wellness expert. Bringing three daughters into this world, she lost four along the way, and crossed the pregnancy finish line a digestive–hormonal–emotional mess. But, over the following decade, she found a deeper meaning for miscarriages, reclaimed vibrant health, and grew emotional resiliency. Dr. Sue is obsessed with living her soulFULL purpose and helping other growth-minded Mamas do the same. She believes we are in this together to rise up, realize our dreams, and feel fulfilled in every facet of our lives.