2704: [Part 2] 4 Ways to Stop Eating a Million Calories Every Night by Jill Coleman of JillFit

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[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Living Daily.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Health Daily, 4 Ways to Stop Eating a Million Calories Every Night,

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Part 2 by Jill Coleman of JillFit.com and I'm Dr. Neal Malik.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey there and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I read to you from some of the

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: most popular health and fitness blogs online.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, for a lot more blogs being narrated for you, check out Optimal Living Daily.

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: You could search and find that podcast wherever you're listening to this.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, today's post is part 2 of a longer post so if you missed part 1 then I'd

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_00]: recommend going back and listening to that episode first.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you're all caught up, let's get right to part 2 and continue optimizing

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_00]: your life.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: 4 Ways to Stop Eating a Million Calories Every Night, Part 2 by Jill Coleman of

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: JillFit.com

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. Find Workarounds

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you just have to rewire your night time behaviors.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I recommend checking out the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: The idea is that when you spend time building healthy habits, when your willpower

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00]: gets drained, you default to those effective habits instead of poor ones.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever you practice is what you get good at and day one of practice is always the

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_00]: hardest but the more you do it, the more automatic it becomes.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: So, workarounds will be things that take you away from that typical couch TV food

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_00]: scenario. They are physical, nutritional or lifestyle based tools.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: This is a modified version of what coach Mike T. Nelson used as a guide for fasting.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Physical Workarounds

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Go workout after dinner.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Take a walk.

[00:02:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Do some light stretching or foam rolling.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Go to a yoga class.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Go dancing and so on.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Nutritional Workarounds

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Keep your mouth occupied. You could drink some water, for example.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Lifestyle Workarounds

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Read

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Meditate

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Blog

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Pay the bills

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Call a friend

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Take a long hot bath and so on.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Start by picking one or two things you could see yourself doing instead of your

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: usual scenario and practice them until they become second nature.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_00]: My personal tool is getting into bed right after a later dinner and reading.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And four, incorporate intermittent sampling, a practice in moderation.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: My house, my belongings and my gym bag are littered with half-eaten protein bars.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Wrapped, I swear.

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it's a touch gross but it serves a purpose.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_00]: It's part of what I call intermittent sampling and it's a practice in moderation.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: You might say, but I hate moderation and I can't do it.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I get it. I used to eat five protein bars in a row, never mind a half or third of a bar.

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you kidding me?

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00]: But yes, over time I started practicing not eating the whole thing.

[00:03:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's how.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd get a bar out and take one-third of it, eat it, get the taste and put the

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: rest back into the cabinet or into my bag.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Then I'd go do something for at least 10 minutes.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00]: If I was still thinking about the bar, I'd go back and eat another third.

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Then I'd put it back.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Same thing.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: This time, I'd wait at least 20 minutes and if I still wanted more, I'd go back and finish it.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Over time, more often than not, I was able to take a third or a half

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: and forget about the rest until later.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: This may seem silly but the idea that you can just go cold turkey is a little short-sighted.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And besides, I don't want to have to go cold turkey.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: I want to be able to control my cravings and use a moderate approach to feel satisfied with less.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: I used to be someone who would have to finish the whole bag

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: or package or roll of whatever it was and this was a practice that helped me overcome that.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_00]: The one fry rule.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's another example.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_00]: My brother Danny is 23 years old and he lives with me and my partner.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Like most 23 year old guys, he orders a burger and fries 90% of the time we go to dinner.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: So I started just plucking one single fry from his plate every dinner,

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: even when I didn't really want one.

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Simply to reinforce that I can taste something and then move on.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd grab a fry, douse it in ranch and then proceed to eat my protein and veggies.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This became a practice that has carried over into all meals and all my interactions with food.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: So is there something you can practice moderation with?

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, we are not trying to be perfect.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: We are trying to not eat a million calories at night,

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_00]: so even a little better is still an improvement.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: What food would you like to continue to be able to eat

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_00]: but need to practice your moderate approach around?

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Fellow wellness blogger Negahar Fannouni pours baby glasses of wine

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and that's what works for her.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: This stuff may have been neurotic or weird or overly obsessive,

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: but it's actually the opposite.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Because these practices automatically put me in more control than ever, effortlessly.

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: It's simply just the way I eat now.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_00]: No stress, no binging, no obsessive thinking about food,

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_00]: just self-trust meal to meal, situation to situation.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Over time it's completely liberating.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope these four things help.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: My advice is to start with just one option and see how you do

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of trying to implement them all at once.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Start with the easiest one first, the one you can see yourself doing right away,

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: and then practice and be gentle with yourself and just do your best.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Many of us have many million calorie nights to overturn in terms of habit formation,

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: so relax into the process and don't expect perfection

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and I promise it'll get more manageable with time.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to part two of the post titled

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Four Ways to Stop Eating a Million Calories Every Night

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: by Jill Coleman of jillfit.com

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's go back to Jill's third suggestion, find workarounds.

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_00]: The thing about behavior and habit formation is that

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_00]: we aren't usually successful when we try and stop a behavior

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: and don't replace that behavior with anything else.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_00]: What we need to do is find a substitute for the behavior we're trying to stop.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_00]: There has to be something that fills in that gap.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Just as Jill recommended in today's post,

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: if you want to snack less often on processed foods for example,

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of avoiding snacking altogether,

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: it would be better to find a nutritious snack to substitute instead.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: If calories are a concern then finding a snack or drink

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00]: with low or no calories would be most helpful here.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to watch fewer hours of TV a day,

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: you can't just stop watching TV and do nothing else instead.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: What you have to do instead is find something else to do

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of watching TV that's just as interesting to you.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, I think you get the idea.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So that'll do it for today.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for coming back to listen every day and sharing this show with someone.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a great start to your week

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.