Wednesday, February 9, 2011

28 Day Challenge Day 20

Eek - I am a bit behind on these! - Work again!

So today Annette is helping us to avoid the chain reaction!

There are many factors that stimulate us each day. One that can be less obvious is the stimulus (cues) control which involves recognising the social or environmental cues that 'trigger' or encourage you to eat the wrong food - this is why there are lots of pizza ads on TV around dinner time. Picture this: you are hungry, tired and maybe the thought of cooking is just too hard, then an advertisement for a hot, tempting pizza comes on television and all you have to do is dial the number and - voila! - dinner is taken care of. But if you have already eaten dinner, these types of ads mean nothing to you. It's only when you are hungry that you are vulnerable. What we need to learn here is how to avoid these 'chain reaction' situations the next time they happen. How do you do this….

For example: You may learn from your recollection or your self-monitoring records that you're more likely to overeat while watching television, or whenever treats are on display by the office coffee pot, or when you are around a certain friend. You might then try to sever the association of eating with the cue (don't eat while watching television), avoid or eliminate the cue (leave coffee room immediately after pouring coffee), or change the circumstances surrounding the cue (plan to meet with friend in non-food settings).


Changing habits, changes lives, - and if you are smart and aware of your cues and reactions, then you can too.

So who has changed a habits to form a new one? How did it go? What did you do?

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