How To Leverage Prior Experiences To Lose Weight
8/9/23
Hello again!
Have you ever had an unpleasant customer service experience somewhere? Say you call for technical help, but the uninterested representative gives vague responses, transfers you inaccurately, and repeatedly disconnects the call. Frustrated and unheard, you are left without a solution AND time you will never get back.
From this experience, you have built up data in your brain (in this case, negative data) about that company, and your brain associates that company with displeasure. You probably won’t visit them over the phone again if you can avoid it.
We can do this same thing with other things in life too, like learning our bodies.
This weekend my family and I went out for “just because” ice cream during the middle of the day. My daughter got chocolate ice cream with hot fudge on top (takes after her mama), and my husband got mint chocolate chip with hot fudge. This time, I chose to get no ice cream. I made this choice because when we made this same outing a month or two ago during the afternoon, I ate some ice cream but did not feel my best for a couple hours afterward. Ok, so I felt plain ole bad. I was full, sluggish, really thirsty, and barely hungry for dinner that night. Because I have been paying attention to my body for quite some time, I know that is not the feeling I want to keep going for if I want to maintain my weight, mood and energy.
I made the choice to decline ice cream this weekend based on a prior experience that I intentionally paid attention to. That prior experience was unpleasant, and I didn’t want to relive it.
The noted prior experience paired with a future oriented way of thinking (knowing I would feel bad for the rest of the day and potentially the next day) is where the magic happens!
In other words, I have successfully lost weight, sustained it, and continue to feel my best by paying attention and intentionally making decisions based on prior experiences- and you can too!
So for the next week, do this for yourself: after at least one meal, take a few minutes to just notice how you feel. Bonus points if you write down what you ate and how you felt afterward. You can do this in a journal, your notes app, or on the back of a gum wrapper. After you notice, ask yourself this: Do I want to experience this feeling again in the future?
Let me know how this goes for you!
I hope you found this helpful, and please email me with any questions, comments or feedback. I would love to hear from you!
Talk soon, Emily
P.S. I have a 1:1 coaching, 12 Week Comprehensive Weight Loss Program where we work on “stuff” like this to lose weight. No specific food plans, counting calories or just telling you what to do. In my program you learn HOW to manage your emotions, thoughts, and how to find freedom around food. If this interests you, email me and I’ll send some more info your way!
emily@emilybachhealthcoaching.com
Instagram: @emilythehealthynurse
