Stop, Drop, and Roll

First it was the weeks leading up to Halloween.  Aisle after aisle in every store were bulging with fun size black and orange wrapped sweet treats. Some of you shared remorseful tales of having to "re-buy" Halloween candy since it never made it to Trick or Treat night. Alas. I remember those days.

And now, these same stores have diminishing displays of discounted Halloween candy at the back of the aisle while the bright green and red candies of Christmas and a sprinkling of Hanuka blue sweets take center stage at the end cap displays.  Is there no hope for our pursuit of healthy eating?

Those of you in the work place have been struggling with decorative dishes galore of all things candy and weekly food feasts that start in November and don't end until January. Food, food, food.  It's as if we can't walk, drive, talk or turn without seeing foods that tempt us into the dark side.  Does the evil Chocolate Devil show up before Halloween and follow us around prodding up with his sharp little brown pitch fork  until we slide down that slippery, gooey, sweet slide into the endless chocolate pit where souls are apt to be lost until January 2nd?  Sometimes I wonder.

Whatever is going on with these overeating spells, we can get back on the path to wellness! It just takes an ACTION Plan.

All I can think of is a phrase my kids learned in case of fire: Stop, Drop, Roll!

1. Stop.
2. Drop. 
1. Write everything down that just went wrong with your eating and exercise plan for the last hour, the last day, the last week or last month.  Get it all down.  Then look at it.  Now, crumble it all up into a little ball and throw it away.  Just like that. Gone.  Let it go. It's over.
2. Perform one simple physical action. Snap your fingers, clap your hands, roll your wrists back and forth, whistle, stomp your right foot or breathe in and out forcefully. While you do this, think about bringing yourself back under control.  Repeat whenever you need to get control back.  Research has shown this type of sensory training can help in developing behavior changes like these. Keep practicing this one.
3. Roll.
1. Take one positive step. Go out for a walk. Drink a glass of water. Go to the gym. Cut up an orange, put it on a plate, sit down at the table and eat it mindfully with a fork. Once you do this, you are going to feel so much better. It's almost as if the power starts filling you up once again. Your own power of self control.
2. Take another positive step forward.
3. And another step. 
4. Repeat...

Fire UP!!  You CAN Do This!!