How to stop grazing in 3 simple steps

Are you a snacker? A grazer? Even when you’re not hungry?  Maybe you’re aware you do it, maybe not. It seems harmless right?

Here’s the thing -  it’s keeping you from getting the results you want.

When I was heavier than I wanted to be, I would throw random bites of food in my mouth while I was cooking. A bite of cheese here, some chips there. Sampling, tasting. I would snack so much while cooking that when it got around to eating, I wasn’t hungry. And then I felt like I would still have to sit down and eat with the fam.

I did this for years. And not just during the holidays.

How’d I finally stop? It was a three step method we developed for ourselves by ourselves - and we’re sharing it with you right here, right now.

1. First, is awareness - I had to be aware that I was doing it in the first place. 

I had to realize that I was snacking. Maybe you’re like I was and you snack at dinner. Maybe when you’re home you just kind of graze throughout the day. Or in your car.

Just acknowledge what’s happening in the moment. “I am snacking.” Notice the thoughts and feelings you’re feeling. Maybe you’re bored, or stressed, or didn’t eat enough during actual meals. Maybe you’re trying to satisfy a craving for something. It might just be habit. We’re so used to doing it that we eat without even thinking.

2. The second step is allowing - allowing yourself to feel what you’re feeling.

Feeling more instead of eating more. Everything we do in life is because we think it will make us feel a certain way. So why are you putting that bite of cheese in your mouth? What’s going on for you? Just examine that one decision you made to eat the bite of cheese. No judgement, not being critical of yourself. Just noticing what you’re seeing and letting it be there. Accepting it all. We can’t change if we’re constantly judging ourselves and denying reality.

3. The third step? Alignment - making a different decision that serves you in the long term instead of just getting that instant hit of immediate gratification. This is a bit more difficult because we’re so used to doing what we’ve always done. Your brain is telling you to go for it. Have the cheese, already. And then you get to choose:

You can get the instant gratification of popping that cheese in your mouth (with the unwanted result on the other side) or you can get the delayed gratification of deciding not to mindlessly eat random food.

Snacking and grazing throughout the day is just one of the reasons it seems like feeling good in your body is impossible.

This is how we teach our clients to lose weight. Just one little step at a time. We don’t overwhelm with doing everything at once. We don’t have you subtract all the ‘bad’ foods, or go on some crazy calorie restriction.

We do it more slowly. More methodically. That’s how we get our clients to feel kickass in their bodies - And there’s sooo much less drama with that.