SELF CONTROL

Self-control is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one’s behaviour in order to achieve specific goals.

One of the things that have a huge influence on your self-control is the strength of the reason WHY you feel you have to apply self-control. Let say that you are following a new eating plan. Ask yourself WHY am I following this eating plan? WHY do I want to lose the weight? This will help you determine your motivation for your action.

So, find your PURPOSE, cause when you determine your WHY it gives you the ENERGY, FOCUS & PRESERVERANCE during your most trying times.

WRITE DOWN YOUR WHY’s – so that you don’t lose focus.

You found your purpose of why you want to lose the weight. What is next?

PLANNING & PREPARATION……

Famous quote of Benjamin Franklin: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Plan your meals – plan a week or month in advance. If you don not how to plan your meals or know what to eat visit a registered dietician.

When it comes to healthy eating meal preparation becomes your best friend as it can help you avoid reaching for junk or convenience foods!

Meal preparation is any sort of food preparation that can be done in advance. It can be anything from chopping & slicing, grouping food together or cooking entire meals.

If meal preparation is a new concept to you. Try and see which areas need meal prep the most for example if you know you are not eating lunch and always buying a take away , then focus on preparing a lunch box.

Good Quality containers

Invest in good quality airtight containers to store your food. Good idea is to buy containers the same size so that they stack easily in the fridge especially if you are going to prepare a few meals in advance.

Plan your meals

Plan your meals for the week. So you know exaclty what you are going to eat when.

Shopping List

Next step is writing your shopping list after knowing what meals your are going to prepare. A shopping list allows you to buy exactly what you need and not buying things that can cause temptation

Get started, Get preparing.

Now that you have all your ingredients & containers, it is time to start preparing. Salads, fruit and some vegetables are best eaten fresh, so rather than chopping them up, group them together & chop them the morning you need them.

Remember food safety. Some foods should not be kept in the fridge for more than a couple of days once cooked. I would recommend to only prepare a few days in advance to avoid food-borne illnesses.

Store your prepared food correctly.

It is important that you store your prepared food correctly to avoid food poisoning. All prepared meals should be stored in the fridge and once you remove them from the fridge it should be consumed as soon as possible. You can also freeze some of your foods that you won’t eat in a couple of days.

Plan your exercise.

Know exactly how many days of the week you going to exercise. What type of exercises you going to do and how much time do you have. If you are battling to plan your workout get a personal trainer to help you.