Do you ever sit in front of the TV in the evening and think:
“I need something”
This is the story of one of my clients and I have changed her name to protect her identity.
Jane, aged 41, is married and a Mum of 2 children, aged 12 and 10. She works 3 mornings a week in a solicitor’s office.
Jane has been working with me on the MIND OVER BODY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME for a few weeks. She has done really well and lost weight and has changed a lot of her bad eating habits. However, a few weeks into the programme she has been getting off track in the evenings. During one of our sessions she told me that she ends up snacking too much after dinner while she is watching TV.
I asked Jane what thoughts come into her mind at that time and she said, “It’s probably something like, ‘I need something.’” Jane said she wasn’t really hungry at that time, but it was her mind that wasn’t feeling satisfied.
Jane and I looked at what that “something” might be for her. We explored how she is feeling at the time when she has that thought of “I need something”. Jane and I decided that next time when she has the thought “I need something“, to ask herself, “what will the food do for me? Am I bored? Am I tired? What is it that I am feeling right now as I am thinking “I want something.”
Jane discovered that she feels tired in the evening when the kids have gone to bed and she relaxes in front of the TV. I discussed with Jane that a lot of people who want to lose weight get off track in the evening because they’re tired and what they really need is sleep. The body is saying, “If you want me to stay awake, I need some energy.” Your brain interprets that as, “I’m hungry and I need food.”
Jane told me that she often puts off going to bed because she plans on finishing some chores. We discussed how she might manage her time differently and Jane agreed with me that if she goes to bed a bit earlier, she might then get up earlier and get her chores done in the morning. I also advised her on writing a list before she goes to bed of the things she would like to get done in the morning, which will put her mind at ease, and she doesn’t have to worry about forgetting.
She wrote her plan on an index card, which she will be reading every day, this is to ensure that she will remember what her plan is the next time she thinks “I need something”.
