wherever.
Make Sunday a meal-plan, meal-prep, and meal-making day. Cook a
big batch of something healthy that you can use for several lunches
and dinners. Use the day to cut up veggies and have them ready to go
as snacks and sides.
If you stash junk food in your home for other people to eat, put it on
the top shelf of the pantry (and behind other items). The harder they
are to see and reach, the less likely you are to dig for them when a
momentary urge strikes.
Keep a small bag of nuts in your car, purse, or briefcase. It’ll save
you in a hunger emergency.I’m famous for always carrying nuts, and this day was no exception. So I
noshed on those, even though, to be honest, I wasn’t really in the mood for them.
That held me over until I could get lunch. I would have had a cookie if some
were nearby. And you can be sure that I would have cannoned down a cupcake if
I’d been making the call next to a plate of them.
Here’s the bottom line: We are products of our environments, and we make
choices not based on what we know, but on what’s in front of us. This plays out
every day: Grazing while making dinner, nibbling in front of the TV with a
bottomless bag of something crunchy, stopping at the vending machine because
the urge strikes at four P.M., finishing the last scoop of potatoes because, well,
that’s just not enough to pack for leftovers. These mindless habits—when they’re
unhealthy—defeat many of us. To win, we have to create new environments and
experiences and automatic behaviours that capitalize on the healthful joy food
can give us.
To quiet a rumbly stomach, we eat what we see. We eat what’s close. The
drive to satisfy hunger is stronger than any drive to hold out thirty minutes for
the carrots and hummus. So you have to be prepared to handle your hunger and
your temptations. This is why it’s so important to pack snacks in the morning so
you reach for the good foods, rather than the ones that will tinker with your
blood sugar and energy levels later in the day. (See more stress-busting and
satisfying snacks or Snacks.)