Snow Days

It is no surprise that a big part of losing weight (and how you gained it) is psychological, which plays a huge role in bad habits. For me, snow days are a day of relaxation and indulgence. In the past, when we get 12+ inches of snow I typically prepare for a snow day by purchasing a Digiorno pizza and picking up a 6-pack of beer. It was so automatic that I didn't think about doing anything else. Well, 3 days into my first round of Whole30 and with just 8 days left of this round of Whole30 we had snow days. For a split second it came into my mind that I should be going out to pick up a frozen pizza, but then I immediately switched back into Whole30 mode and reminded myself that I have a refrigerator full of healthy foods. I also reminded myself that regardless of what type of day it is (snow day, work day, Saturday, birthday, etc.) my body is going to take in calories the same way, so indulging is going to detrimental to my progress regardless of the day. So, I made my sausage and avocado for breakfast and turkey and green beans for lunch. I also kept busy by taking some pictures of the snow and some birds outside, reviewing my budget for the next 6 months, and even managed to take a nap.

Classical Conditioning (a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired) has been a huge factor in a lot of my unhealthy habits. I frequently associate one environment or situation with an unhealthy eating habit (e.g., snow days = frozen pizza, birthday = donuts; Friday evening = ordering takeout; warm/sunny afternoon = drinking beer in the back yard, etc.). Part of my journey of losing weight is making a new pairing between the environment/situation with a new healthy habit. That way, the next time I am tempted to revert back to an unhealthy habit, I can - at the very least  - remind myself that I have practiced a healthy habit before in the same situation and came out successful!