One way I have found to help my clients to stick to their nutritional goals is to have them intentionally focus on the benefits of healthy food choices.
There seems to be four mindsets, where are you when thinking about food?
. Health mindset – a focus on how good the food is for you
. Pleasure mindset – a focus on how much you will enjoy it
. Fullness mindset – a focus on staying full until the next meal
. Neutral mindset – no focus on food generally speaking eating as you need and want
In studies surrounding these four types of nutritional thought patterns, the brain scans showed greater activity in the prefrontal cortex-which is linked to self-control and the cognitive process of future meal planning –when people decide to adopt a healthy mindset. This healthy mindset leads people to select a smaller portion of food than they did with any other mindset.