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Can’t Say NO?



What If I Can’t Say No to Food?

 

It's okay to tell the little child in yourself No! Lovingly, gently. : )

It's okay to tell the little child in yourself, No! Lovingly, gently. : )

Does the Paragraph Below Describe You?

No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to stop eating, to tell yourself no, to not take the next bite. You can’t say “No!” to Food.

Noes vs. Yeses

First of all, you may have heard that we need to accentuate the positive and diminish the negative. that No’s should be changed to a Yeses some how, some way.

For example: Instead of saying, “No, don’t touch the light socket,” one might say, “The light socket is dangerous. Let’s go touch something else.”

This is all good and dandy. But honestly, it’s rather a demanding exercise to follow through consistently…

We all may not have the intellectual capacity and energy to constantly figure out how to change Noes to Yeses.

Life is inherently filled with Noes. Learning to accept and even feel comfortable with “No” can be liberating.

Yeses will figure in later rather nicely as you will see as you continue to read.

That said…

What do you do if You Can’t Say “No” to Food?

Perhaps the first thing is to start believing that you CAN say “No,” and someday you will actually follow through and listen to yourself.

That belief is an important starting point.

Another step requires you not to be angry with yourself. That anger will not help you accomplish what needs doing.

Being disappointed is one thing as long as you let go of the disappointment and move forward. But being angry with yourself could cause physical AND emotional problems.

Again we remind you to always consult with your physician for any health or emotional issues or concerns you may have.

But we present here some ideas that may help you understand some important points, and thus, help you come up with a winning solution.


The Next Step

The next step in dealing with the inability to say No and mean it is to always be gentle with yourself, but adamant.

Do not give up telling yourself No. Start with small things that may have nothing to do with food.

Perhaps you’re tempted to jaywalk. Tell yourself No, and then go and use the crosswalk. Smile at yourself. You’ve done something good for yourself.

Give yourself a virtual loving pat on the back. Recognize that what you did was good for your body, your mind, your spirit, the little child within you, all parts of yourself.

Continue telling yourself No in loving ways, to simple things that are easy to stop doing, things you know are not necessarily the best for you.


Telling Yourself “Yes”

Now may be the time to introduce “Yes” to yourself. You might think about asking yourself questions like, “Should I brush my teeth now even though I’m too tired?”

Answer yourself with a resounding “Yes.”

Then, go brush your teeth and smile at yourself.


Practice Makes Perfect

Practice does indeed help make perfect. The more frequently you tell yourself “No” and listen to yourself, the more accustomed your mind and body will become to listening to you.

If you are gentle, forgiving yet persistent with yourself, you will gradually cooperate with yourself quite nicely.

Remember – it’s highly unlikely that you are vastly different from most of the rest of the human population on Earth.

Chances are that you, as they, will respond lovingly to kind and persistent treatment and training, as most anyone would. Even when the teacher is yourself.


We are Not Doctors

Now the above ideas are different, it is true. And we here are not doctors, psychiatrists, sociologists or any other types of therapists, healers, advisors or practitioners.

We are simple folk who have carefully observed the world around us and noticed what succeeds and what doesn’t.

We have found the above techniques that we have devised to be quite effective.

Let us know what you think… if it works for you.


Progressing and Rewarding Yourself

If you notice progress, move on to telling yourself “No” to certain types of food that you know are not healthy for you.

If you slip, forgive yourself. Go back and practice “No” on things that are super easy for you to comply with.

Keep going. Tell yourself “No” to giving up, “Yes” to Continuing. And reward yourself with a smile, a loving thought.

That’s important!

When you do well, reward yourself with a smile, a loving thought.


It’s Okay to Suffer When You Tell Yourself “No.”

When you want to eat more and more, tell yourself “No,” and stop eating the next bite.

Important: Remember that it’s okay to suffer when you tell yourself No and obey yourself.

It’s okay to feel poorly and want to eat more and more. It’s okay to even be a bit miserable with cravings that seems to go on for hours, even days.

Feeling bad is okay when you tell yourself “No” to something that’s not healthy for you.

Will the misery, bad feelings, suffering go on forever? Not likely.

You see, body fat seems to clamor for more food and fat for itself. Studies have shown that fat cells (which don’t go away once they are create) yearn to refill themselves ad infinitum.

Each fat cell has the amazing capacity to grow and grow.

But, if you allow your fat cells to diminish in size, to learn that you can say “No,” your fat cells may very well start cooperating with you.


A Most Helpful, Useful Miracle Addition

The miracle is this: IF YOU ADD EXERCISE to your regimen, your fat cells will become even MORE cooperative.

The best starter exercise? Walking. At the Mall, around the block, in the park, in the city.

Another secret: Gardening. Do you have a gardening patch? Digging, lifting, bending, all with proper care and attention, is very good for you. All that movement, using all those muscles in various different motions can be very beneficial.

You might not even need to go to the Gym!

You can also container garden. You will use the same muscles, although you won’t be digging and hoeing. Container gardening can be very invigorating as well.

And of course, there’s the Gym. It can be a great place to follow through with exercise.


Finally…

This may surprise you… but, it’s okay to feel hungry when you know you have had plenty to eat and your hunger is based upon needless cravings or misplaced desires to soothe or satiate oneself.

True hunger is different than “false” hunger. It’s okay to ignore or suffer through pangs of false hunger.

In the end, being a healthy weight and being able to tell yourself No, and then Yes, lovingly and positively, will most likely enhance your life in wonderful ways you didn’t ever expect.

ALL the Best – and may you enjoy Yummy Delicious Food happily, joyously, and healthily!


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