Meal planning is obviously helpful if you have the time, choosing and even preparing what you’re going to have ahead of time will make you more organised and in control - you already know this.

What I actually want you to try next is to consider the actions/thoughts you’ll implement at each stage of any future meal. By planning you can remove any temptation to overeat, encourage maximum enjoyment, and ensure you can always align your behaviours with the long-term goal, regardless of any business events, family gatherings, or special occasions you’re involved in.

As an example:

✅‘I’m going to have one sandwich at the conference buffet on Wednesday.’

✅‘I’m going to put that sandwich on my plate with nothing else.’

✅‘I’m going to consciously leave one bite of that sandwich as always.'

✅‘Once I’ve finished, I’m going to have a big glass of water and figure out whether I enjoyed the sandwich, what I could taste, the textures, etc.’

✅‘I’m going to expect to potentially want more or another sandwich. That’s OK. I’m simply going to notice and sit with those feelings of ‘wanting more’ but know that I don’t have to act on these.’

✅‘After a further 10 minutes, I’m just going to check in and decide whether that was the right amount of food for me. Chances are it will be, but I may learn that I’m still hungry (truly hungry), and next time, I need to adjust how I tackle a similar situation’.

Of course, this process can be applied to any scenario and whatever food you’re going to have. Eventually, you’ll be able to manage this without that specific structure and be satisfied with the amount you consume.

Ironically, once you can be with those feelings of ‘wanting more’ – and still stop – you can actually have these things whenever you want. You can fully ’trust yourself’.

I want you to come up with a plan – using the structure above – for an upcoming meal / social event. What will you consume? How will you act? How will you deal with certain thoughts? What happens when you want to ‘eat more?’

As the saying goes, ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.

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