If the list of promises in my subtitle sound like a lot to posit in one post…well…it is, but it isn’t.

More accurately, they are but a short list of awesome results you can expect from just two simple habits. As you “trick” yourself into eating better and exercising more…

…you experience at least these benefits:

• Reduced stress
• Diminished anxiety
• Lower belly fat, less back fat, reduction of all the fat
• Better sleep
• Better sex
• Sharpened cognitive health and function
• More lean muscle
• Less depression
• Happier mood
• Steadier emotions
• Improved mental health

Scrap ‘Perfection’, Go for ‘Better’

Debates abound on the ‘perfect’ human diet, but let’s just put ‘perfect’ aside for now. Instead, how about we aim for…

…works…

…and makes you feel and look better for the rest of your life…

…without requiring an extreme diet…

…spending your life savings on the first week’s meal plan…

…or a sudden complete overhaul of life as you’ve known it with no hope for ever again enjoying potlucks, buffets, or barbecues at Uncle Ron’s?

The tips I’m about to share with you I’ve applied for those who want to eat healthier, exercise more, and overall improve lifestyle habits to lose weight, feel better, improve immunity, look younger, etc, but…

Truthfully…

They’ll work for anything…from a crash diet to a slow burn, long-term plan.

This is because the underlying principles of “habit change” apply to paleo, Mediterranean or keto diet, vegan, or raw…to exercising, drinking more water, thinking happier thoughts, whatever.

Here are my 4 Way to Outsmart Yourself to get the results you desire:

1. Become an Alarmist
2. Don’t Put Things Away
3. Be Wasteful
4. Hire Your Inner Control Freak

I know…these all sound like the worst advice EVER…but hear me out for each one and, I bet, soon you’ll be nodding your head and fighting the establishment with me (just kidding…sort of)!

Go Ahead…Be Alarmist

Did you ever set out one Sunday night to pack your lunch, complete with the world’s best supplements, entire meal perfectly proportioned to meet your macros or your calorie goal or whatever…

…only to leave Monday morning…without your perfectly prepped pack-lunch? Or maybe you conveniently forgot it in the breakroom fridge as you went for a quick stop to Taco Bell…for the iced tea, of course…which accidentally came with 3 beef and cheese tacos, a quesadilla and churros?

Or maybe your new goal is to drink two 32 oz bottles of water with lemon per day while in the office…but you didn’t bring the water flask…or the lemon?

Oh, how failures like these abound…and it’s perfectly common and it makes perfect sense.

Why, you ask, does it make perfect sense?

Because this is new!

You haven’t “carved” a space in your life for healthier habits — yet — so it isn’t yet in your pattern of life or your daily rhythm.

That’s what strategic, methodical habit change is all about.

Therein, consider your ways.

Do you use a calendar? Do you already have a system that helps you remember wifey’s or hubby’s birthday next week, the dentist appointment on Friday, the tax deadline in two weeks?

If you don’t, I wonder if you’re a hot mess like I was before I started using google calendar?

If you do have a calendar system, great. Then you already know how, so add your desired habits to your daily calendar or groovy app and set it up with alarm reminders.

If you don’t, now’s the time to start.

I love google calendar because even when I switched from a droid to an iPhone, I could access it from any web browser. There are many apps that allow you to schedule with reminders that can either send you an email or pop up notification. It might buzz, ding, or…who knows…maybe there’s one that’ll ZAP you, too!

Evernote is a great app that lets you do more than create reminders…like jot down random thoughts, build and share a list, add photos and videos, and more.

But let’s don’t make this complicated.

If you use a hard copy calendar and you’re in the habit of checking it regularly to stay on track, use that. If you’re like me and hate paper, try google calendar or an app you can access from your mobile device.

The most important thing is that you get the reminder WHEN YOU NEED IT.

For instance, a reminder to hit the gym is all well and good, but if it’s 5:00 quittin’ time and you haven’t packed your clothes, towel, water, etc., you ain’t ready and you add an obstacle to doing something that doesn’t yet feel natural to you.

Use alarms to remove obstacles

For example…

Set the alarm for the previous day or night at a time when you will be able to prepare for tomorrow’s gym jaunt.

I’ll usually create an event in my calendar to the tune of: “7pm PACK GYM BAG…NOW!” It helps if I yell at myself, I guess.

Then, I’ll set up a reminder…or three…depending how stubborn I tend to be about it.

If I want to pack my gym back at 7pm, to give myself a heads-up it’s coming I might set an alarm for 6pm…another for 6:55…and another for 7:10 in case I drifted and forgot. That usually does the trick.

There is no set way of going about this. Just know thyself!

We’re strategizing to OUTSMART YOURSELF.

Because you’re super smart and zippy enough to strategize for success, take into account the old you that didn’t make time to pack your gym bag or prepare a lunch, and start carving out space for those activities now.

That way the new you outsmarts the old you so she doesn’t take over…ever…ever…again.

Don’t Put Things Away

I know, your mom, your spouse, your naggy neat-freak roommate will hate the sound of this…at first…but eventually they’ll understand.

Simply, this just means you’ll place the things you need in the spaces where you’ll need them…

…because when it comes to doing new things that don’t yet come naturally…

…”away” becomes a far, far, far place where good intentions collect dust until they expire and whither into nothingness never having achieved their purpose for existence.

When I realized I kept missing my daily supplements — which really made a difference in how I felt from day to day — I noticed that for some strange reason I just hated opening the bottles and getting the little capsules out. Seems so silly, but it was true!

Remember…that’s a roadblock…and roadblocks are no bueno.

I would have happily pre-packed daily portions but in this case I didn’t have to. I simply ordered the pre-packed daily doses and found a space for them near the cutting board because that reminds me to take them as I’m preparing dinner…and that has worked like a charm for me.

What is your current goal?

Is it to drink more water? Add something to that water like electrolytes or essential oil? Is it to add lightweights to your cardio or use lavender at night to help you sleep better?

Whatever the goal is, when it involves the use of something, you want to eliminate every possible roadblock to using it.

Think ahead. Right now.

• What’s the habit you want to practice?
• What thing(s) do you need to do the habit?
• Where are you most likely going to do the habit and need the thing(s)?
• How can you make a space to store the thing(s) there?

…and if you need to remind yourself it’s there, you can call upon your new alarmist-self to back you up.

Be Wasteful

Oh my goodness, it’s trouble-time now. I know. “There are hungry children in Africa…”

It’s true! But they don’t need that bag of donuts any more than you do!

This is especially for those days you went ahead and splurged. Whether it was planned or not, strategic or not, it’s not for every day…

…and though this goes against conventional sensibilities…

…if you have any leftovers from the weekend binge, the cheat day, whatever you want to call it…

…while you’re still feeling sick and your stomach is still bulging and you just can’t fit another slice, piece, or morsel…

…throw. the rest. OUT.

That’s it. Get rid of it now. You want to make things easier not harder, correct? You don’t need it there screaming, calling, vying for your attention.

 Temptation is not helpful when ch-ch-ch-changes are in the air. 

That leads me to our final strategy to outsmart your old self.

Hire Your Inner Control Freak

This is one of those rare times your inner control freak can safely come out to play.

Be not deceived by how simple this one is…it’s perhaps the most powerful of them all, and it’s a much better way of avoiding a regretful eating episode than having to throw a bunch of food in the trash.

Just don’t have it in the first place.

Now…this might begin with a bit of “cleansing” of the fridge and pantry. You might find a college couch potato who would love to inherit your Doritos, but I’m not sure you’d be in very high integrity giving him the very thing you believe is better off avoided?

Maybe look for that rare individual who “just can’t gain weight,” and help them out.

In any case, whether you throw it all out or give it away, the most important detail is what you do (and don’t do) next.

DON’T go buy more of it. That was obvious.

DO consider any unwanted items; namely, what we Precision Nutrition coaches like to call “red light” foods…

…and replace them with yellow and green light foods.

In short, your green light foods are those that don’t tempt you to compromise your healthier habits and goals.

It could be apples and other fresh or dried fruits in place of candy…or maybe you’re just glad you’ve ditched the Fritos and are getting to actually enjoy baked tortilla chips?

Download my FREE graphic “The Snack Continuum” for better snack choices.

This little trick is no more or less than changing your environment in order to change your behavior.

The best way to not eat a food is to not have the food readily available in the first place.

If what you’ve got is bananas…or baked chips…that’s what you’ll probably eat.

In that way, your inner control mechanisms get to have a ‘say’ while it’s easy, when you’re not hungry and while you’re out buying the food for your pantry.

This puts on the winning team before you even so much as think about tearing into that bag of Chips a’ Hoy…

…because it just. isn’t. there.

Let’s take this a step further, and this is IMPORTANT.

You don’t just want to think in terms of what not to eat and not to do…but consider what my hubby calls “the law of displacement.”

You really don’t succeed by subtraction alone. For nature abhors a vacuum. If you only take something away…well…something’s got to fill it.

You can leave that to chance…or you can take authority over what fills it by being intentional.

Then you might swap out the deep fried with the baked tortilla chips…or the thick “cheese-food” dip with a bean and salsa dip. 

Or, rather than tell yourself you will not eat donuts…

…you determine that you will eat at least three servings of whole fresh fruit per day.

As long as you add the fresh fruit, you’ve stuck to your commitment and made a huge improvement to your diet. You might also find it’s easier to eat a few less donuts or no donuts at all…

…because you’re so full of apples and strawberries.

It happens.

The only catch, here, is if you try to change too much or too drastically at one time.

Because your brain and body chemistry have not yet adjusted, making too many big changes at one time will ultimately work against you (aka yo-yo or rebound dieting). Aim to make smaller changes that don’t totally suck, a little bit at a time, and over time you’ll see a trend of positive change you never have to do twice.

If you’d like to work with me personally on your nutrition and fitness goals, check out my coaching program. I’d love to walk with you to your best life in a body! 

BONUS TIP

Here’s an exercise that might help you maximize that law of displacement.

On the left side of a page, make a list of red light foods (ones that encourage binging and aren’t helpful to your goals).

On the right side, jot down some reasonable improvements.

And voila! There you have it…at least a starter list of replacements and displacements to make it easier for you to eat better and live healthier. 

In Conclusion…

Please…be my guest.

Rely on memory…

…or feeling like it…

…or convenience…

…to do the things you need to do to get what you want.

It’ll mostly fail, but at least you’ll be comfortable.

OR…

Be a rebel like me, go against the grain, plan ahead, and outsmart your old self so you can get and keep what you really want.

And if you think you could benefit from having me as your coach to help you navigate your weight loss journey, check out my Nutrition + Fitness Coaching to see if it’s for you.