Reminder Systems and Alternative Coping Strategies

Week 3 in our Emotional Eating Series

Welcome back to Creating Peace with Food ™ Blog.  If you are just joining us please read the previous two posts to get a better sense of where we are starting from today.

Hopefully by now you are feeling more comfortable with the process of “Checking In.” How has this been helpful for you? Were you able to identify at least one new thought (B) that you feel comfortable telling yourself when faced with high stress situations that lead to EE?

The last two weeks have forced you to take a deeper look at how your personal food relationship corresponds to your emotions.  This week I am going to help you transform this information into useful and reliable action steps.

There are 2 acronyms I want to introduce you to: RAS and SMART
S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely): This acronym is a great baseline for setting goals.

R.A.S. (Reticular Activating System): This is the part of our brain that can help us stay alert to specific stimuli. My business coach explained it to me like this: If you just bought a new car, you immediately notice ALL of the same type of cars on the road.

This is invaluable information! This means that we actually have a part of our brain DESIGNED to stay alert to things we consider to be useful. Knowing this allows us to tailor how we choose to meet our personal goals!

So let’s make this more applicable to you! Let’s use your new B (thought/belief) statement that you identified this past week. We’ll start by making it SMART.

Ask yourself: how can I use this statement so that it is specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, and timely?

Here is an example:
Old B: I’m angry at my spouse and the only thing that is going to calm my nerves right now is in the freezer!

New B: I’m angry at my spouse and I really need to calm down. I can do this and I have 3 choices. I can go for a walk, I can write in my journal, or I can pray about it.

SMART goal: I will choose 1 new coping skill to practice each day for the next 3 days.

Having a reminder system in “high risk” places will help you through this process by keeping it in your R.A.S.
One example of this is taping an index card with your goals written on it to the freezer. You very well may see it and choose to continue on to the treat in the freezer, but it will begin to disrupt your usual routine very soon.

How else can you use the reminder system to help you stay accountable to your goals?

Weekly Challenge: Define your own SMART goals for the week (no more than 3 at a time) and set up your own reminder system.  This can be hard to do so please post comments below as we all learn from one another. (You can post anonymously.)

Good luck and “see” you next week!