Tips to Politely Refuse Extra Food Calories from Family & Friends

Are you like many who find it difficult to avoid "Food Pushers"?  You know who we're talking about, those family and friends of yours who always seem to tempt you with something mouth watering.  Have you ever considered that there just might be a polite way to refuse those needless calories?  We are here to help with a couple of ideas!

If you've come across the following statements see below for some tips to come away from them successfully:

A. "Come one, a tiny piece of pastry won't ruin your diet."
B. "It's a special occasion, it's ok to indulge a bit."
C. "You only live once!"
D. All of the above.

 

Most of us find it extremely hard to confront "food pushers" because we don't want to offend them, or come across as someone who is no fun - especially during special occasions.

Here's what you can do:

1. Prepare in advance for scenarios where you know "food pushers" will likely dwell.  Next, think about each situation's dynamic.  For example, if you're meeting up with a close friend you may feel more comfortable speaking to them about your new healthy habits. However, if you're meeting up with co-workers for happy hour you may need a clever response.  When that's the case try to use some humor which tends to diffuse the situation.  You can also politely decline and deflect to change the topic of conversation.  

2. When spending time with "food pushers" who offer you calorie-laden food and beverage as a sign of affection try to turn things around by letting them know what they can do for you instead.  For example, when offered a piece of chocolate cake, you could say, "I'm actually craving some fruit right now, do you have any fruit for me?"

3. When you need to be straightforward about saying no, make sure it's a positive statement.  So, say you're offered something decadent for dessert, you could respond with, "My favorite dessert right now is a nice cup of coffee or tea." 

How do you deal with the food pushers?

Reference:  Fooducate, Daily Tip - Novemer 25, 2015, 3 Ways to Politely Refuse Needless Calories from Friends and Family
 

Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating

Here are some tips for applying the principles of mindful eating to your life:

• Drink plenty of water. Drinking water before a meal will help you feel full sooner and avoid overeating. Drinking water after a meal may keep you from going back for seconds.
• Listen to your body. Rather than eating because it’s mealtime, wait until you actually feel hungry to eat. Also, stop eating as soon as you stop feeling hungry, not when you feel full.
• Take small bites. When you take large bites, less of the food ends up on your tongue and you deprive yourself of the chance to savor and enjoy it, which often leads to overeating.
• Avoid distractions. Watching TV or using the computer while you eat takes your attention off your eating and encourages mindless eating. However, engaging in conversation with a friend or family member can slow down your eating and put you back in control. You may want to try eating with chopsticks or with your non-dominant hand to force yourself to slow down and think about your eating!
• Focus on the food. Pay close attention to the way your food tastes, smells, and feels in your mouth. If you’re eating food that you didn’t prepare yourself, try and guess what flavors or spices you taste. You’ll find that this may help you enjoy your food more so that you need less of it to feel satisfied.

Healthy Tips for Leftovers

Many of us are likely to have leftovers this week. The question is other than simply reheating them what else can we do to spice things up? We're here to help with some tips to add some interest.

•Leftover pasta - try adding fresh or frozen vegetables to create a whole new meal
•Leftover protein such as turkey can be given a second chance such as adding it to stir fries, tacos with beans, lettuce, tomatoes and low-fat cheese or sour cream for a quick quesadilla, or even add...ing it to soup
•Leftover turkey, chicken or pork can be added to grain dishes like couscous, rice or quinoa along with some vegetables
•Leftover turkey has always found a home in sandwiches, but try giving it new life by adding a salad along with it. To keep it healthy try a whole-grain bread, top with lettuce and tomato and keep the condiments light.

By using your leftovers you will be doing your part to avoid waste! Enjoy!


Reference: Health & Nutrition Letter, Tufts University, Make Your Leftovers Healthier the Second Time Around, p. 1 & 3.

The Truth About Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is a sweetener with a health halo that's not necessarily justified. It's not that agave nectar is worse for you than sugar, but then again, it's probably no better.

Agave nectar is derived from Agave plants grown in Mexico. There are several processing methods used to obtain the syrupy sweetener. It's not as simple as tapping into the plant and draining it, like maple syrup.

Agave nectar has the same number of calories as sugar, honey and maple syrup: 4 calories per gram. However, agave nectar is one and a half times sweeter than table sugar, which means you can use less to reach the same sweet point. This means slightly less calories for the same level of sweetness as sugar.

The reason agave nectar is sweeter is its makeup: 23 percent water, 55 percent fructose, and 12 percent glucose. The fructose accounts for 82% of the sugar content in agave, compared to just 50% in table sugar. Fructose is sweeter than glucose, hence a sweetener with a higher fructose content will be sweeter.

Agave nectar has a lower glycemic index than table sugar, which makes it popular in some circles of people with diabetes or prediabetes. However, this is slightly misleading: the glycemic index only measures glucose levels, and agave nectar has far less glucose than sugar. Additionally, recent research suggests that fructose may be more harmful than glucose because of the way it is metabolized by the liver.

Bottom line: Agave nectar, like all sweeteners, it is best consumed sparingly.

Reference:  Fooducate, October Newsletter, The Truth About Agave Nectar.

8 Ways to Reduce Your Sugar & Salt Dependency

People who try to lose weight often revert to their old habits. When asked why, one of the answers always revolves around the complaint that healthy food is not tasty.

We'd like to share some good news. It's not that healthy food lacks flavor. The truth is that our taste buds have simply forgotten the flavor of real food. Clever food manufacturers have spent decades optimizing their products for the right mix of fat, sugar and salt to reach a "bliss point" that keeps us hooked.

You can break free of the processed food chains, but it's not easy. Here are some suggestions that can help you reduce your sodium and sugar dependency.

Tip #1 Eat more home cooked meals
About 70 percent of the sodium in a Western diet comes from processed food (restaurants, fast food, snacks and prepared supermarket food). The rest is found naturally in some foods or is added when cooking or serving. If you really want to cut down on your sodium, just eat food you prepare.

Tip #2 Choose frozen, not canned
Salt and freezers are both food “preservers”. Choose frozen over canned veggies because they don’t need the salt to protect the food. They usually have a higher level of the original vitamins preserved, compared to canned. When you do use canned vegetables, try rinsing them to remove some of the salt.

Tip #3 Delay salting
When cooking, add salt just before serving, and in a smaller amount than called for in the recipe. Each diner can then add salt to taste from a shaker at the table.

Tip #4 Gradual salt detox
Train your taste buds to enjoy less salty foods. Over the course of weeks and months, slowly reduce the amount of salt you add to food. Your salt comfort zone will adjust. If you keep at it, within a few months, you’ll actually start to dislike fast foods because they will taste too salty!

Tip #5 Gradual sugar detox 
You can train your taste buds to crave less sweet. Do it with your coffee / tea. Reach zero sugar in your coffee as follows: At the start of a new week, add just one quarter teaspoon less sugar to your drink than you normally do. The difference in flavor will barely be noticeable. After a week, it will even feel normal. The next week, try to reduce another quarter teaspoon, and so forth. Within a few months, you’ll discover you are drinking your coffee without any added sugar! If you are used to drinking 3 cups a day with 2 teaspoons of sugar, your daily saving of 6 teaspoons of sugar is worth 100 calories. That’s the equivalent of one pound of weight loss every 5 weeks!!!

Tip #6 Chewing gum
Low calorie chewing gum may help you resist the urge for sweet calories. Choose gums that don’t include artificial sweeteners. We like Glee and Pür brands because they don’t use artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and acesulfame-k.

Tip #7 Eat every 3 hours
If you wait too long between meals (or snacks), your brain will signal that it craving a fat / sugar / salt combo; your willpower won’t be strong enough to say no. If you never get to that stage, you’ll have an easier time making the healthier choices.

Tip #8 Get more sleep
A well-rested person has better chances of refusing the many food temptations she comes across during the day.

Reference:  Fooducate, October Newsletter, 8 Ways to Reduce Your Sugar & Salt Dependency

Savvy Tips for Dining Out

According to the U.S. Census Bureau this is the first time Americans are spending more dining out at restaurants than they are on groceries.  It turns out that we are buying more of our groceries in warehouse and “club” stores.  In addition, consumers reported that lower gas prices allowed them to dine in restaurants more often, and visit fast-food chains and coffee shops.  That being said, this new boom could have implications for our nutritional health because we don’t know exactly how these foods are being prepared when we dine outside of our homes.  What we do know is that restaurant meals tend to be very high in calories, sugar-sweetened beverages that are offered are high in sugar, and fruits and vegetables are usually absent.

To help you make the best choices while dining out see our tips below:

Savvy Strategies:

• ·         Start by having a healthy mindset and “can-do attitude” to help make the best choices.
• ·         Choose restaurants that make it easy to select a healthy option.
• ·         Review the menu online beforehand so you can set up your game plan.
• ·         Speak up right away to share or split orders with others at your table.
• ·         Remember portion control.  That means avoiding descriptions like jumbo, grande, supreme, feast, combo, etc.  Instead, select descriptions like regular, petite, and even kiddie.  Ask for half, lunch or appetizer portions.  Split or share your meal if possible, or pack up half of it in a to-go container.  Lastly, choose from side and á la carte offerings to create your own meal.
• ·         Be creative about your selection.  There is no rule that says you have to eat an entrée.  Instead, try a soup or side salad with an appetizer.  Or, what about eating family style with your table mates where everyone can sample a little bit of everything.
• ·         Order foods as you would like them – meaning request items on the side or to be omitted.  You can also ask for a different cooking method like broiled, grilled, or steamed.  Try using the phrase, “Do you think the chef will…?” or “Would it be a problem to…?”
• ·         Know when you are comfortably full and stop eating.  There is no need to clear your plate when you can take the rest home.

     Try these skills the next time you dine out to help you make healthy choices.

Reference:  Smart Strategies for Healthy Eating Out, Tufts University, Healthy & Nutrition Letter, September 2015 (pp. 1 and 4).

Keys to Keeping Weight Off as We Age

As we all age we typically notice that keeping weight off becomes more challenging.  So, is there anything we can do to help avoid this?  The good news is that recently a new study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that challenged the previous notion that it’s about calories in and calories out that matter.  What was found is that not all calories are the same.  Moreover, the study found that “all foods have complex mechanisms that help or hinder weight long-term.  The simple math of calories in versus calories burned is true if you’re testing food in a test tube.  But human beings are not just inert buckets to put calories in.”  In addition, the results showed that foods interact in a synergistic way – meaning that “we should not only emphasize specific protein-rich foods like fish, nuts and yogurt to prevent weight gain, but also focus on avoiding refined grains, starches and sugars in order to maximize the benefits of these healthful protein-rich foods, create new benefits for other foods like eggs and cheese, and reduce the weight gain associated with meats.”

Here are a few things to think about:

Protein Options:  It’s common for people to gain weight as they age, and typically this gain is seen in the mid-section, which can increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.  There has been evidence supporting that a diet including fewer low-quality carbohydrates like white breads, potatoes, and sweets and higher in protein-rich foods may be more efficient for weight loss.  It would appear that yogurt, peanut butter, walnuts and other nuts, skinless chicken, and low-fat cheese and seafood were associated with weight loss.  On the flipside, meats, chicken with skin and regular cheese were associated with weight gain, so be careful.

Carbohydrate Quality:  Researchers found that there is a relationship between glycemic load (GL) and weight changes.  GL takes into account how rapidly a food boosts blood sugar, as well as the typical serving size.  For example High-GL foods such as white bread and white potatoes were linked with weight gain.  However, it’s not just about GL, fiber and whole grains also have an impact.  With that in mind, it’s important to look for foods whose ratio of total carbohydrates to fiber is 10:1 or less.  That would mean that a piece of white bread with 15 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber would have a ratio of 15:1, and therefore would not be a good choice.  To make things a little more complex, if you’re eating foods that are weight-promoting like meat and combining it with a low-GL food like broccoli it turns out that combination could decrease weight gain.  However, if you’re combining proteins linked with weight gain (meat) with high-GL foods (white pasta) the reverse is true, so that would be weight promoting.

Common Sense:  It turns out that the food we eat affects our brain’s reward systems, our insulin levels, liver function, microbiome, and fat-cell function.  We have a complex system to regulate our weight.  That’s why the calories from salmon and vegetables versus the calories from processed packaged foods have a different effect on your weight.  And, over time it’s more about diet quality rather than diet quantity.

Reference:  Smart Choices Key to Keeping Pounds Off as You Age, Health & Nutrition Letter, Tufts University, August 2015, Vol. 33, NO. 6. (pp.4-5.).

More on Portion Sizes

Creating a heart- and brain-healthy diet isn't just about putting healthy foods in your body - it's about eating the proper amount. Without a doubt, most Americans eat too much. Restaurant portions are large, many single-serve snack packages have ballooned over the years, food is all around us, and many people have lost the ability to recognize when they are full.

Knowing how much you should be eating might involve a little bit of measuring, but that can be made easier by relating portion sizes to every- day objects. Follow our portion size guide so you know how much food makes up one serving.

Below are a few other tips to ensure that you're eating the right portion amounts:

- Most restaurant portion sizes are at least double or triple the portion you  should be eating. As soon as your meal arrives, cut it in half and box up the other half. Take it home to have for lunch the next day.

- Serve food on small plates. Instead of using a dinner plate, substitute a luncheon plate or a salad plate.

- When eating at home, put a small portion of food on your plate, and keep the rest of the food in the kitchen. Then, if you want to eat more, you'll have to get up to get it.

- Read food labels. When a package says that it contains more than one serving, measure out one serving into a separate dish.

- Avoid eating in front of the TV or while reading. Instead, focus on the tastes, textures, and aromas of your food. This can keep you from mindlessly munching your way to the bottom of a bowl of popcorn or bag of chips.

- Listen to your body's hunger cues. Pay attention to feelings of hunger and fullness.

Complicated Calories

Research has shown that what we thought we knew about calories is actually a lot more complicated because our bodies' digestive process is quite involved.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Calorie counts posted on food labels can range widely from the calories you extract

• Vegetables can vary in how easily digestible they are

• Cooking plays a key role as it breaks down the cells in these vegetables 

• Research has found that peanuts, pistachios, and almonds are not digested as much as foods with similar levels of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats 

• Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins require different amounts of energy to digest 

• Heat accelerates the unraveling of the amino acids in proteins
 and they become more easy to digest

• We expend less calories digesting processed foods

• Gut bacteria, which differs from one person to another, plays a part in our digestion

• Our modern diet reduces the bacteria in our stomach

• Whole foods provide us with more vitamins and nutrients, which keep our intestinal (gut) bacteria happy

Even if the way calories were counted was revised it would still be nearly impossible to know exactly the amount of calories in each item we consume due to complex interactions between food and the human body.  Instead, if you are trying to eat healthier it would be best to eat a diet with less processed foods, and more whole and raw foods.

Dunn, R., (2013). The food issue, everything you know about calories is wrong. Scientific American, (pp.58-59,).

Variety is the Spice of Life

Spice up your fall recipes! Did you know that cayenne pepper is loaded with capsaicin that not only makes your mouth burn, it also burns body fat too. According to an article in the November/December 2012 issue of Psychology Today magazine, spices can stimulate all our senses, kick-starting digestion and metabolism. The use of turmeric substantially cuts blood levels of fats after a rich meal, and it lowers insulin levels as well according to significant research studies. Dust off that spice rack and start cooking!

Fall Back on Track

We have heard from a number of our clients that September is their time to get back on track. The kids are back in school, vacations and summer gatherings are winding down and it's time to refocus.

This is a great time to "get back to the basics" - grab your paperwork and review your eating plan, your select vegetables, your "non-permitted" foods and fill up your water bottle. We also suggest that you revisit your goal and perhaps set some new ones - is there a special occasion coming up and you want to get into that dress again? Set daily, weekly and monthly goals that are more manageable for you and go for it! We are always here to help.

True or False? Facts About the Foods You Eat

There are always new studies emerging touting a certain food one day, and then proving it’s harmful the next day.  With all of the information that’s going around it’s hard to know just what to believe.  We answer a few popular questions below:

1.     Is sugar harmful to your heart?

One study showed evidence that added sugars can negatively affect your heart.  Participants were assigned to drink one of four Kool-Aid-like beverages with their meals for two weeks.  The drinks were comprised of a dose of high-fructose corn syrup equivalent to 0, 10, 17.5, or 25 percent of their daily caloric requirement. The results revealed that the higher the dose the higher the participant’s LDL cholesterol and post-meal triglycerides. The reason fructose wreaks havoc has to do with how it’s metabolized, which takes place in the liver.  And, when the liver gets overloaded it then turns some of that fructose into fat.

The bottom line:  Try to limit added sugars to no more than 6 teaspoons (100 calories’ worth) if you’re a woman, and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) if you’re a man.

2.     Vegetable and fruit drinks, are they as healthy as eating them?

Evidence from a recent study that tracked more than 71,000 female nurses for 18 years has shown that for every three servings of whole fruit eaten the risk of type 2 diabetes dropped by about 20 percent.  In addition, each serving of leafy green vegetables dropped the diabetes risk by about 10 percent.  However, for each serving of fruit juice there was an 18 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes – and that’s just for one cup (8 ounces), most servings are between 16-20 ounces.  The problem with juice is that since it has a heavy sugar load that’s in liquid form it’s easier to absorb into your bloodstream, which can spike your insulin.  Rapid insulin spikes on a regular basis can cause problems with your body’s ability to produce the right amount of insulin you need, thereby leading to one becoming insulin resistant.

The bottom line:  Eat your fruits and vegetables.  From time to time if you want a smoothie it’s best to make your own with a mix of fruit and vegetables, along with low-fat milk or yogurt.

3.     Does eating whole-grains lead to weight loss?

Two studies tracked participants who were given whole grains.  One study assigned people to either a whole-grain or refined-grain group.  They were asked to eat four to seven servings a day of their grain, and told to cut about 500 calories from their diets.  After three months there was no difference in weight loss between the groups.  However, although their weight loss was similar the whole grain group lost more abdominal fat.  Next, another study where people were given whole grains showed no lose in belly fat.  The reason behind this may be that some whole-grain foods have more calories than their refined counterparts.

The bottom line:  Try to swap refined grains with whole grains, but just don’t expect to lose weight or fat.

4.     Do beans reduce cholesterol?

In 2011 researchers reviewed 10 trials that randomly assigned people to eat either legumes (other than soy) or an alternative food like spaghetti, carrots, or whole-grained breads and cereals.  They found that the average LDL cholesterol levels were 8 points lower when legumes were eaten.  Beans contain soluble fiber, and that fiber binds to bile acids in the gut and prevents them from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream. Then the liver takes cholesterol out of the bloodstream to make more bile acids, which lowers your LDL cholesterol.

The bottom line: Add beans as a side dish, in a soup, or salad to help reduce your LDL cholesterol.

Reference: Bonnie, L., Nutrition Action, July/August 2015, True or False?  Face vs. fiction about the foods you eat, p.1, 3-5.

Keeping Your Thyroid Healthy

Vitamins and minerals keep your thyroid gland operating at its best. In order to avoid low levels of the thyroid hormone to protect your health, you can find these nutrients in some of your favorite foods.

Try to focus on fresh, whole foods. Avoid processed foods that lose nutrients through the refining process and also contain additives and preservatives that interfere with vitamin and mineral distribution during digestion.

Selenium and iodine help process T3 and T4 hormones, which are released into the bloodstream from the thyroid. These hormones play an essential role in converting oxygen and calories to energy for optimal metabolism. A lack of iodine in the body can lead to an underactive thyroid, known as hypothyroidism, which may cause physical and emotional disorders from diminished thyroid hormone levels.

The thyroid needs selenium to transport hormones to cells and tissues. Iodine also helps the gland to function.

Zinc maintains the strength of the thyroid gland by helping to regulate the immune system.

The B vitamins help the thyroid gland function by aiding in metabolism and the production of energy. Other vitamins, such as A and E, also help your thyroid work properly.

Here are the 10 best foods that contain the nutrients necessary to keep your thyroid gland healthy:

1.   Beef and turkey have high amounts of zinc, selenium, and iodine.

2. Seafood, including tuna, is high in iodine and selenium, which help the body make hormones for the thyroid to work.

3. Dairy products, including yogurt, milk, and eggs, contain iodine.

4. Cranberries are a rich source of iodine, which is required by the thyroid gland to function properly.

5. Nuts and seeds are filled with selenium, including Brazil nuts, and sunflower, sesame, and flax seeds. Brazil nuts, walnuts, and almonds contain generous amounts of zinc.

6. Lima beans and pinto beans have high amounts of selenium.

7. Broccoli, rich in vitamin A, or beta-carotene, also provides vitamin C and selenium.

8. Cabbage offers selenium and vitamins E and C.

9. Spinach has generous amounts of selenium.

10. Brown rice has selenium and B vitamins. Brown rice is among the whole grains, such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, and oatmeal, which are high in zinc.

Source: www.newsmaxhealth.com, “10 Best Foods for Thyroid Health”, June 3, 2015.

Loophole #10 - Do you fall into this category when trying to form a new habit?

When we’re trying to form and keep habits, we often search, sometimes unconsciously, for loopholes. We look for justifications that will excuse us from keeping this particular habit in this particular situation. However, if we recognize this behavior and catch ourselves in the act of loophole-seeking, we can avoid using the loophole, and improve our chances of keeping the habit.

There are many kinds of loopholes. Ten kinds, in fact. So every few days we have been posting about a category of loophole, to help with the Strategy of Loophole-Spotting. This is the last one. If you've missed any, take a look back at the previous posts.

Loophole Category #10: The One-Coin Loophole

Often, when we consider our actions, it’s clear that any one instance of an action is almost meaningless, yet at the same time, a sum of those actions is very meaningful. Whether we focus on the single coin, or the growing heap, will shape our behavior. True, any one visit to the gym is inconsequential, but the habit of going to the gym is invaluable.

A friend told me, “I’ve really changed my eating habits, I’ve lost seventy pounds. A woman in my office uses that against me! She’s always saying, ‘Come on, you eat so well now, one cupcake won’t kill you.’ So I say, ‘You’re right, having one cupcake is no big deal—but I’m not going to have one today.’”

It’s so easy to point out the low value of the one coin. By reminding ourselves that the heap grows one coin at a time, we can help keep ourselves on track.

Pointing to the one coin is a way to deny a conflict between our values: we’re not choosing between our desire for French fries and for healthy eating habits, because eating one bag of fries is an insignificant act. But when we consider the accumulated cost of the French fries, the conflict looks different.

·              I haven’t worked on that project for such a long time, there’s no point in working on it this morning. 

·         One beer won’t make a difference. 

·         What difference does it make if I spend this afternoon at the library or at a video arcade?

·         Why work on my report today, when the deadline is so far away? 

·         A year from now, what I did today won’t matter.

A friend once told me, “I’ve really changed my eating habits, I’ve lost seventy pounds. A woman in my office uses that against me! She’s always saying, ‘Come on, you eat so well now, one cupcake won’t kill you.’ So I say, ‘You’re right, having one cupcake is no big deal—but I’m not going to have one today.’”

It’s so easy to point out the low value of the one coin. By reminding ourselves that the heap grows one coin at a time, we can help keep ourselves on track.

Do you invoke the one-coin loophole? The challenge of this loophole is that it’s true.

Reference: “Which of These 10 Categories of Loopholes Do You Invoke?” by Gretchen Rubin, February 5, 2014.

Loophole #9 - Do you fall into this category when trying to form a new habit?

When we’re trying to form and keep habits, we often search, sometimes unconsciously, for loopholes. We look for justifications that will excuse us from keeping this particular habit in this particular situation. However, if we recognize this behavior and catch ourselves in the act of loophole-seeking, we can avoid using the loophole, and improve our chances of keeping the habit.

There are many kinds of loopholes. Ten kinds, in fact. So every few days we will be posting about a category of loophole, to help with the Strategy of Loophole-Spotting.

Loophole Category #9: The Fake Self-Actualization Loophole.

This loophole comes in the disguise as an embrace of life or an acceptance of self, so that the failure to pursue a habit seems life-affirming—almost spiritual. But for most of us, the real aim isn’t to enjoy a few pleasures right now, but to build habits that will make us happy over the long term. Sometimes, that means giving up something in the present, or demanding more from ourselves.

·         You only live once.

·         I love life too much to deprive myself of this. 

·         It’s too nice a day to spend doing this.

·         I’ll be sorry if I don’t at least try it. 

·         I should celebrate this special occasion. (How special is it? National Cheesecake Day? A colleague’s birthday?) 

·         I should enjoy myself. 

·         This is special, I have to act now or miss out forever. (Fast food joints exploit this loophole; customers buy more when a limited-time offer is tied to a season, an event, or a specific holiday, such as pumpkin spice lattes or heart-shaped donuts.) 

·         I live in the moment. 

·         I want to embrace myself, just as I am. 

·         I should do something nice for myself. 

·         I don’t want to be rigid and obsessive about denying myself this. 

·         If I don’t make any demands on myself, I’ll feel better.

It’s true, however, that sometimes we do want to live in the moment, we do want to take advantage of an opportunity. As with many loopholes, a great way to handle this conundrum is with planning. You’re an adult, you make the rules for yourself, and you can mindfully choose to give yourself an exception to a usual habit.

So you might think, “My habit is that I don’t drink at home on weeknights, but next week is our anniversary, so we’re going to have champagne.” Or “I’ve promised myself to work on my thesis every single day, but on the first sunny day about 70 degrees, I’m playing hooky to go for a day-long bike ride.”

By planning for an exception, you stay in control, you ensure that your habits are working for you. Usually, loopholes are invoked in the heat of the moment, in the eagerness to find an excuse to junk a habit.

Here’s a test that can sometimes be useful: how do you feel about your exceptions later? Do you think, “I’m so happy I embraced the moment” or do you think, “Hmm…looking back on it, I wish I’d made a different decision”?

How about you? Do you sometimes invoke self-actualization to justify an action — and then regret it later?

Reference: “Which of These 10 Categories of Loopholes Do You Invoke?” by Gretchen Rubin, February 5, 2014.