Read Time: 1 x Pint of Egg nog (6 minutes)

Key Points:

December can be one big period of "Ahhh fuck it" mentality which is no bueno for body composition goals.
The “ahhh fuck it” mentality is a habit. Understanding your triggers, coming up with implementation intention plans and avoiding rigid restraint can help avoid it.
“Cooling the hot system” can help you make more logical, rational decisions rather than deciding on emotions.
Maintaining an awareness of your calorie intake can help mitigate any weight gain.

Welcome back.

To recap (If you haven't checked out part 1, do so here).

In part 2 I want to address the above points.

How can we reduce their impact and improve our chances for maintaining or improving our body composition?

1) Avoid the "Ahhh fuck it" mindset.

The “ahhh fuck it” mindset is a habit.

James Clear, author of 'Atomic Habits' states "habits are behaviours we’ve constructed to solve a problem".

In this scenario, the problem is feeling uncomfortable. We feel stressed, guilty and angst at having “broken” our diet.

To feel better, most people will:

Use food as a comfort
Justify their behaviour
Push the problem to the back of their mind to worry about at a later time.

The problem with the above is the disinhibition that occurs. What may have been a slightly higher day of intake can turn into a more extended period of greater calories.

And thus what could have been minimal fat gain, can become substantial.

When it comes to changing any habit, the first step is gaining awareness. Once you're aware of the situations in which you're likely to react this way, you're better able to evaluate and make changes.

As such you need to ask yourself 'what are the situations that may lead me to lose control?'

It may be when you're out drinking, when you get home from work, at parties, or if you're like me, when you lack sleep.

Once you've identified the triggers, you can design an implementation intention plan so you're ready for these occasions.

Implementation intentions are plans you create prior to experiencing a trigger. They're like a plan of attack, so you know how to respond in a given situation.

For example.

" When I'm faced with a choice that I feel goes against my goals, I will remember that I can enjoy the experience without YOLO'ing and get back to eating for my goals the very next meal."

Or even more specifically.

"When at a Christmas party with alcohol and snacks, I will have 3 drinks and 1 small plate of food."

Research shows that implementation intentions are effective at helping us stick to our goals.

And while they can be useful, we're still only addressing the symptoms rather than the cause.

The “ahhhhh fuck it” mindset is born from the ugly loins of a rigid dieting mentality. Also known as rigid restraint in the literature. It's characterised by an all-or-nothing approach and a tendency to swing between periods of strict dieting and periods in which “bad” or “forbidden” foods are consumed without control.

Rigid restraint is associated with:

Less weight loss and less weight loss maintained.
More food-focused.
Higher body mass.
Higher levels of depression, anxiety and mood disturbance.
More frequent binge eating episodes.
More symptoms of eating disorders.
Poorer body image.

So restraint is bad?

Not at all.

When taken to extremes, such as having strict, rigid rules that leave you feeling deprived, restraint can be detrimental. On the other hand, having no guidelines or self-control also leads to problems.

Flexible restraint, on the other hand, is a more progressive approach to losing weight in which “bad” foods are considered okay in moderate amounts, rather than excluded entirely.

This leads to a more consistent and sustainable diet.

It's associated with:

Less disinhibition.
Less frequent binge eating episodes.
Lower self-reported intake.
Higher probability of successful weight loss maintenance.

You can think of flexible restraint like the bumper bars in Ten Pin Bowling. Such that when you're heading off track the bumpers allow you to bounce back and adjust your plan to allow you to continue towards your goals. Someone using rigid dietary methods would view their choice as a gutter ball and a failure. And then throw a tantrum and start bowling other peoples balls into various lanes.

2) Cool the present and heat the future.

As you learnt in part 1, we're drawn to favouring our present self over our future self.

AKA I want one cookie now rather than 2 cookies a week from now.

This preference for immediate-gratification is driven by the "hot", emotional part of the brain, the limbic system. Also known as system 1 thinking by Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow. This area of the brain is fast, emotionally driven and largely subconscious.

And like our ancestors, much of our daily decisions are made by this "hot" system.

Walter Mischel, the grand daddy of self-control and immediate gratification research, believes that one way to battle our natural inclination for immediate gratification is by "cooling the present and heating the future".

This means making immediate temptations less tempting and thinking more about the benefits you'd acquire in the future.

Let’s think about this with partying as an example. Thinking about the immediate gratification (fewer inhibitions, fun, socialising etc.) makes you keen to go out and party. Thinking about the next day (hungover, headaches, feeling like crap) reduces that temptation and lessens the likelihood of of you going out.

While saying "ahhh fuck it" and eating all the delicious foods is tempting at the time, thinking about the consequences or benefits for your future self can "cool" your emotional "hot" system.

Or you could try the "advice for a friend" tactic.

When we're making decisions for ourselves, it's easy to get caught up in the hot system. Meaning, we primarily make decisions based on our emotions.

When making a decision for someone else, we're more rational, utilising the logical part of our brain.

That's why decisions seem so much clearer when you're looking at a friend or strangers problems rather than if you were in the position yourself.

It's also why coaching of all sorts can be so powerful.

By thinking about your decision as if you were someone else you can hold the hot system at bay long enough for the "cool", logical system to kick in.

3) Maintain dietary awareness.

Nobody wants to be diligently weighing and tracking food at Christmas.

I get it. The ham, seafood and eggnog are flowing freely and the last thing you want to do is weigh foods.

And that's fine.

Relax the reins.

But don't completely let go.

Maintaining awareness of your intake over the day or week is likely to help avoid large jumps in weight.

One study showed that while all participants lost weight over a year following a cognitive-behavioural weight-loss program, only the most consistent self-monitors did so during the holidays.

If the idea of tracking your intake feels you with dread, a less demanding solution would be to assume that you're monthly intake is likely to be higher than average.

As a way to counter this you could look at methods to reduce energy intake in the other meals of the month. 'Balance the books' so to speak.

If you know you have a lunch or party on a particular day and it's likely to be a bit of a blowout, you could consider:

Eating slightly less the rest of the week.
Fasting the day after. (If comfortable with fasting)
Focusing on lean proteins and vegetables during the day or week outside of the social meals.

Like balancing your bank accounts, if you're spending more on some days, you try to balance that out by reducing your spending on others.

Want more ideas on how you can continue to eat all the foods you love and still have a social life while dieting? Check out my free guide here.

At the end of the day, you need to remember that you're in control.

Whatever decision you make, just make it a conscious decision. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for relaxing.

Likewise, don't let anyone make you feel bad if you choose to stick to your guns and eat well, track your intake or whatever other method you choose.

Own your decisions.

Remember, the majority of us are still going to be in control of most meals presented to us this holiday season. So even focusing on making these meals line up with your goals in addition to avoiding the "ahhh fuck it" mindset will go a long way in reducing any fat gain that can occur.

Enjoy.