Tips for avoiding the Deviation Demon

[Soon2BSlim]

Hi Everyone

I've been reading in a lot of diaries recently about people deviating and despite the warnings of others not to do it, it just seems too hard for some people. Obviously, we want to support each other and encourage each other not to deviate and sabotage our weight loss journey. So, I thought that if we added a thread full of suggestions of things to do when we feel like deviating, for whatever reason, we could try some of those things and hopefully be stopped from visiting that Deviation Demon.

Here are a few that I've thought of so far:

1 Visit this forum and read some success stories.

2 Drink water until you feel so full that there's no room for deviations.

3 Fill a backpack with weights (any type of object will do) until it weighs the same amount of weight you have lost. It can be added to weekly as you lose more weight. At times when you feel like deviating, put the backpack on your back and walk around with that added weight for a while, reminding yourself that you felt that heavy and uncomfortable not so long ago and you don't want to go back there.

4 Have a nana nap. You can't deviate when you're asleep unless it's in your dreams, and then it's pretty harmless.

5 Compare your old fat photo's with your new skinnier look. Ask yourself if you want to look that fat again.


Well, that should be enough to get us started. I look forward to seeing lots more tips for avoiding that Deviation Demon.

Together we can finish this journey!

Louise

[kagiesen]

Great post!

[thenewvee]

I second that!!

I would also add further, have some strategies in place for those times when you know you are vulnerable and are most likely to deviate, eg call a friend, go and take a nice relaxing bubble bath, go for a long walk, whatever works for you.

Vee

[louise41]

I like the part about filling the back pack with the amount you have lost. I did a hike in NZ a couple of years ago after I had lost about 10kgs. As I was climbing fences with my 15kgs pack on my back i can remember thinking that would have almost been me without the pack not long ago - I will keep that in my mind, if I am tempted
Louise

[Rekahs]

Great post S2B,

I drink water but I love the backpack idea. I think I will do that just to spur me on.

Fantastic

[KitKat]

remember one deviation equals one extra week on the program............

[Soon2BSlim]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I've had my thinking cap on again and come up with a few more ideas for avoiding that deviation demon! They are:

1 Try on some more of those clothes in your cupboard! It's amazing how quickly we drop a size or two and things we thought would be too small are suddenly too big. It's always a motivator for me when I am able to wear things that previously had "shrunk".

2 Keep your hands busy with gardening, knitting, doing a jigsaw puzzle, origami or crafts with the kids. The crafts could involve glue or paint so that you need to keep an eye on the kids, and won't have a chance to think about things to eat that aren't on your plan.

3 Brush your teeth. For me, clean teeth signal an end to the eating and who really wants to mix mint toothpaste with food?! I find this helpful especially in the evening after my meal, when I'm not hungry but just looking for "something" to shove in my gob.

4 Indulge yourself with a glass of bubbly (coke), in a fancy glass if you like, and a long soak in a bubble bath with music of your choice, and candles of course. It's very relaxing, so good for the weightloss and keeps you away from the pantry cupboard.

5 Go out, get your hair or nails done. Hopefully by the time you're finished the thoughts of deviating are long gone.

6 Go to the library, have a browse and find some "new" books to read.

That's all from me for now. Hope you all have a great week.

Louise

[shell]

Thought this might be helpful?

http://newyouforum.com/forum/showpos...&postcount=276

Shell

[Soon2BSlim]

Fantastic post. Thanks Shell. I've printed it out and will be reading it often, lots of great points in there.

Louise

[LessisMore]

For those like me who don't live alone and can be tempted by the family's meals

- serve straight away - you're much less likely to nibble from someone else's plate

- deal with left-overs straight away
- if noone's likely to eat them, bin them straight away
- is they are likely to be eaten, freeze them straight away

- and (I know this seems selfish but) don't cook or buy things that you really love and know you will have trouble resisting

I've found this really helps me. The freeze strategy is also good for foods left over from guests or celebrations. And if you're tempted to nibble while you're binning or freezing, chomp on a chewie - the flavours never blend!

LiM

[hexi2]

Tell yourself.....two simple words and move on

NO CHOICE

[Lulabelle]

It may sound a lil negative but when I lost a considerable amount of weight in the past (and did it the very hard and long way - about 18kgs over more than a year with diet and lots of exercise) one thing that helped me a lot to put my cravings into perspective was the back page of one of my notebooks.

When I hit my heaviest, it was just after I'd seen photos of myself at my niece's engagement party. I hadn't realised how much weight I'd put on and was mortified to have "reality" put before me... so I binged for a couple of weeks and wallowed. Then I decided that #1 I wanted to enjoy her wedding and feel confident and just have fun and not be ashamed to be photographed with the family and #2 I never wanted to feel that way again.

That night I wrote out a list of all of the things I was feeling. The things I was feeling about myself, the things I was feeling physically (lethargic, sluggish, bloated, constantly uncomfortable because my clothes always felt too tight, exhausted from trying to hold my stomach in etc), the things I was feeling mentally and emotionally... all of it. In harsh black and white.

Everytime I felt like reverting back to bad habits or having "just one" bad thing, I'd go and read my list and ask myself whether it was worth it.

9 times out of 10, I was smart/strong enough to decide it wasn't worth it, and to keep on track. Reading that list made me realise how much quality of life I'd traded for food in the past.

I've just recently written my new list. This time half of my list is made up of the things I want to achieve so that I can not only lose weight again, but so that I can make it a lifestyle turning point and KEEP IT OFF... and the things I want to enjoy once I do that.

[Faithy]

9 times out of 10, I was smart/strong enough to decide it wasn't worth it, and to keep on track. Reading that list made me realise how much quality of life I'd traded for food in the past.

Lulabelle..

THAT statement says it all to me.. such an awesome quote.. I was thinking something very similar over this last weekend.. all too often I have traded food for quality of life..

What REALLY makes me happy? Eating that doughnut or being the healthy slim girl I've always wanted to be?

Being slim means everything to me at the moment.. that doughnut just leads me to feeling bloated, fat, wanting more & leads to total uncontrolable binge eating for me.. I'd rather not even have one & enjoy the new me In awesome clothes

Thank you for sharing that

[Lulabelle]

Wow thanks Faithy, thank you AND Thank YOU for sharing so much on this forum... I've been trying to catch up on reading through the forum since I joined and your story is REALLY amazing and your contributions are incredible.

I guess on Cohen's I'll have to be strong/smart enough to live by that sentiment 10 times out of 10 Joining the forum has increased my confidence that I can do that by about 100% I have to say!

[JME]

Hi Guys,

Avoiding the devation demon..... i make homemade biscuits for people and when i first started it was so easy not to lick a finger but then i started to make extra's . I love cooking and as i can't try my cooking at the moment i depend on comments from hubby and it never gets better then .....ok....good, so i found i was having that biscuit to see for myself what they were like, but you can never just have one when it comes to homemade biscuits!
Well now if i get a order i'd rather make them after tea once the boys are in bed and hubby is close by for the support.

Another thing i like to do to keep the devation demon quite is take the boys for a walk to the chook pen and collect the eggs. When you've got kids nothing takes 5mins so, so much time has past and you weren't even worried or looking at the clock.

The forum is great to past the time....when the kids are watching a movie and the hubby's at work and the mind starts to wonder, i get on the forum!

Out here on the property visitor are far and few between so once the houseworks done and kids are content there is so much time the devation demon is around so the above helps fill in the gabs.

Hope this helps someone.
H.A.G.D

JME

[Shanara]

*bump*

Some great ideas

[Pommiegal]

Hi All,

Being a 'surfer who's still deciding' I've been doing a LOT of reading on the forum and there have been several sentences, phrases, paragraphs and complete posts that I have connected with.

This morning I read these words by Lulabelle ... "quality of life I'd traded for food" and it was like my head was filled with camera flashes and they all went off at once! I have been doing this ALL MY LIFE!! And I can now see what a ridiculous waste that is.

This is such a fantastic supportive forum and it is making me really think hard about how I have been living my life and how I want to continue living.

THANK YOU!

[butterflydreamin]

I thought I would add to this as someone who completed my journey without deviating in 12 months (other than too much diet soft drinks or gum on a handful of occasions and accidentally eating pears twice....) - no non-cohen's food, no incorrect quantities etc:

Make a commitment to yourself at the start of your journey - you are worth the effort and do everything you can to assist you to succeed in your program.

Be a good boy or girl scout - BE PREPARED:
* if you are going somewhere and you are not sure if they will have cohen's friendly food, take you own.

*Call places and ask in advance if they are willing to support your lifestyle etc. Don't get caught out, often your choices if caught out are very carby, non-coheny options. I often went to restaurants and took my own food. They did not mind. I purchased coke zero or mineral waters so I still contributed to the business

* Always have plenty of your cohen's staples on hand at home and at work - your yoghurts, crackers, proteins and cohen friendly fruit and vege. You will be so pleased that you have when life catches you unawares and you have the items you need to keep on track

* Have some meals prepared in your freezer to assist you when life get unexpectedly busy and throws you a curve ball

* Figure out what you favourite cohen's friendly treat meals are. Mine were cheese meals and mangos. I would make sure that I had these for special events such as birthdays, Christmas etc so I did not feel deprived. I was eating something that I really enjoyed.

* If you are feeling sensitive, do not weigh daily - it can mess with your mind if you have been good. Some of my lowest loss weeks (or even gains) were weeks when I had faced and overcome some really challenging social events. It seemed unfair at the time but your body will do what it needs to do - no matter how much we might mentally try to tell it otherwise......

* Read diaries and see what happens when people both intentionally and unintentionally deviate - often it is the beginning of the end of their program and such a shame - this convinced me to do my program as cleanly as possible

* If you are feeling tempted, do something else. Go to bed early, brush your teeth, take a bath, just distract yourself.

* I faced a lot of challenging life events on my journey - father had a mini stroke, father in law had two major surgeries, worked full time with a young baby who had me up 7 times a night on a regular basis for a number of months, my best friends bub was stillborn, implemented a challenging project at work, moved house etc. My food and sticking to the program was often the ONE thing that I was able to control. I harnessed that sense of control and the mental peace and well being it brought to me was priceless. It stopped me feeling deprived and grateful that there was one thing I was in charge of and that was treating myself with respect and kindness.

* If you have used food to help you cope with stress and emotions, know that you will face those emotions on the way back down your weight loss journey - it will happen. It is ok and you are safe. You will also find that when you stick firm and do not deviate to cope with stress and emotions, the emotions are not as scarey as you thought they will be when you face them head on and don't push them down with food or alcohol

* It won't be forever, you can have your favourite foods again - just not now. And when you are done, you will have to change your relationship with these foods too if you want to maintain your slimness. Most of the time, they no longer taste as good as you remember them anyway - so you aren't really missing out!

* if you want people to support you and not try to sabotage you - be firm and consistent in your approach with them. I had people try to encourage me that one meal off plan would not hurt. No, it would not hurt them (and let's face it - people like you to eat their food because you are validating THEIR choices) but I knew it would hurt me. And when you have given in once, don't expect that people will be satisfied that you have fulfiled their wishes - they will want it again. And they will apply more pressure. If you are always saying no to them, they stop asking and pressuring you. You might do it for one person but then someone else will see it and want you do to it for them too. People can make you feel very guilty. Let's face it, dealing with constant temptations from others is exhausting.

* don't expect people to always support you in your journey. You are going to threaten people and make them feel uncomfortable - esp if they want to make life changes but do not seem to be able to make a start. You will face nay-sayers, doom-dayers and control freaks. People may support you at first but when you become smaller than them, start to try to subtley (or not) sabotage you. Don't automatically assume that everyone has your best interests at heart. We are all human and sometimes we will not act in the kindest manner when we feel threatened. Do what is best for you - and if you need to, tune out.

* I lived with a chocoholic and our house always has plenty of very naughty items in it - that I had purchased. Some people told me that my husband should give up his chocolate to support me. I had a different view. If I could control myself at home, in private where there was no one to see if I fell off the wagon (so to speak), I could handle all other social events and temptations in everyday life. The vending machine and fundraising chocs at work, morning teas, chocolates when you are paying for petrol, birthday parties etc. I could not control all situations by asking that all treats be removed from my sight in life, but I could control myself and feel proud that I did not need them.

* you can do it, just trust in that

* if you find that you do deviate - you can overcome it - you are not a failure, you are human. Be kind to yourself, buy your ticket and get back on the bus as soon as possible

Hope that it helps

Butterfly )i(

[Winterboots]

A lovely and inspiring post Butterfly. Your journey is a leading example to us all and shows us that it is possible to stay true 100% even when life throws us challangers. Thank you.

[yummymummywannabe]

Butterfly, that was awesome, and I think sums up why we are doing this programme in the first place. Those tips you have offered are priceless, they are what is going to make us a success - for the rest of our lives by being prepared for whatever life is going to throw at us!!!