Stop Negotiating to Avoid Self Sabotage {and a 1200 calorie day}

58 Days to go for this weight loss journal: Bikini prep 2023 (which mentally should be more like 50 days so I can be ready a week early!)

Often, when I have a big and lofty goal, I find myself engaging in self-negotiation. In dieting, this happens when I decide to lose weight, but within days of beginning on the weight loss journey, I talk myself into a small taste of a cookie, or an extra tortilla straight into my mouth while I’m making breakfast. I know the script well. It goes something like this:

Self-Negotiation Diet Script:

• Self-Sabotage brain: “yum! I see you’re making a breakfast burrito for breakfast. Good for you. It’s on your plan. Hoorah! And, since tortillas are totally on your plan, it wouldn’t matter if you just had one more.”
• Goal oriented brain: “No Amy! One more is not on my plan. One more never ends there. One more turns into 4 more”.
• Self-Sabotage brain “But you worked out so hard this morning. You’re so hungry! Breakfast is at least 5 minutes away. This tortilla can satisfy you right now!”
• Goal oriented brain: “Remember your goal? Every calorie counts. Is this tortilla really worth the setback? Is it worth it to eat off your plan before it’s even 9am?”
• Self-Sabotage brain “It’s only 80 calories.. Certainly this won’t set back my weight loss. Besides, I still have 8 weeks till I really want to be at my goal weight! Plenty of time to “reign it in”.
• Goal oriented brain: “It’s important to me to keep this promise to myself!”
• Self-Sabotage brain “It’s OK. You can just cut out 80 calories later today and it’s all the same.”
• The result: Then, I eat the tortilla.

Haha! Have you done this? I have a full (And REALLY GOOD) article about how to stop self-sabotage here.

But, I’m actually bringing this up because somehow, the self-sabotage brain used to win ALL THE TIME. But, the last few years, the goal oriented brain wins more than 80% of the time! And on bikini prep, it’s more like 95%. I really wanted to dive into why the goal brain has been winning so much.

1. Because I know how sensitive my body can be. 80 calories really CAN make the difference weight loss, maintenance, and weight gain. At 5ft tall, I’ve seen through evidence that the window of flexibility is quite small.
2. I know how it feels to reach my weight loss goals, and it feels so much better than eating an extra tortilla.
3. Because I know I’ll be on a stage in a VERY SMALL bikini! I definitely can’t postpone the process or I won’t be ready.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll think of more reasons soon, and I can add them as I do. I just want to remember this when I do have a day when the self-negotiating brain appears!

Now, onto my 1200 calorie meals from yesterday!

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𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 – 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲

1207 calories 138 g protein, 95 g carbs, and 31g fat

• 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭: Breakfast was 1 cup egg whites, 1 whole egg 1/3 cup oats and strawberries!
• 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡: Another salad! 6 ounces chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons Bolthouse dressing, carrots, lettuce, and croutons.
• 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤: Not pictured: 2 cups Greek yogurt with pistachio pudding mix. Plus, cucumbers and raspberries! Added cinnamon and zero calorie sugar to the cucumbers. Nice sweet treat!
• 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫: Bell peppers and mushrooms, 75 g sweet potato, 5 ounces ground turkey (90 lean)!