On day 8 I discussed the concept of “the complete you” – your past, present, and future self.
I wrote about how planning ahead with your past self is a gift that you give to your future self that will then become your present self.
When we plan ahead, we are using our prefrontal cortex, the highest, most evolved part of our brain.
This is the part of our brain that we use to think about our thinking, to make decisions, and to plan our lives.
This is the part of our brain that we want to keep in charge at all times, particularly when we are making decisions about eating and food.
We don’t want our primitive urges to be driving our actions.
When we make decisions in the moment based on our current cravings and desires, we are operating from our primitive lower brain and NOT keeping our prefrontal cortex in charge.
We want to keep our prefrontal cortex in control at all times.
We do this with food by planning our meals ahead of time, the day or night before we eat them.
Based on your general protocol (see Day 13), decide specifically what you will be eating tomorrow and then when tomorrow comes, you want to follow through on that plan.
You no longer have to decide. The decision has already been made for you. The decision was made with the part of your brain that knows how to serve your highest human potential.
If you want to plan an exception meal, such as a dessert or something else that is normally not on your protocol (I’ll talk more about this in an upcoming day), plan this ahead as well, the day before just like your regular meals.
You have so much control over your results when you decide ahead of time the actions you are going to take to get what you want and then keep your commitment.
There are several decisions that you can make ahead of time that will help you reach your goals. Here are some examples of decisions that you can make ahead of time.
- I plan my food the night before and only eat that.
- I only eat joy food that I have planned 24 hours before.
- I never snack.
- I only eat when I’m physically hungry.
- I will not beat myself up for any reason.
I’m sure you can think of several more examples of decisions that you can make in advance that will move you closer to your own goals.
The process of making decisions ahead of time keeps your prefrontal cortex in charge, reduces decision fatigue, increases integrity with yourself, and can be applied to so many areas of your life.
It does require discipline, but will give you so much freedom from having to negotiate with yourself.
It is so much better to rely on a decision that YOU made FOR YOURSELF ahead of time than it is to rely on willpower which is in limited supply.
Whether or not you keep this commitment to yourself is determined by the quality of your relationship with YOU.
If you cannot honor this commitment, that is your clue that your work lies in focusing on your relationship with yourself.
If you are looking for help with making and keeping decisions ahead of time and building a stronger relationship with yourself, reach out to me to see how I can help. You can email me at mindfuldocmom@gmail.com or schedule a free mini session at the link below.
