Fake it till you make it or the self-fulfilling prophecy strategy

 Sometimes temptations come into my life that are hard to resist, this is especially true when I am worn out and tired, and my ego is depleted and it feels like I just want to throw in the towel and eat a bon-bon.  It is during those times that I pull out one of my greatest secret weapons.  I didn't realize I was doing this or I would have shared this with you already, but last night my best friend pointed it out to me so I wanted to share it with you.  I wonder how many of you do the same thing or something similar.

We went out to listen to an 80's cover band and have a drink and maybe dance a little and she ordered a pretzel to go with her beer.  When the order arrived, it had two huge pretzels and melted cheese dip to dip them in.  I looked at her, and silently said a few choice words because I really did not need this temptation.  Sure, I can have a few bites of the pretzel now, I am in maintenance and I weighed in at 104 yesterday, so there is room for this, but it was just not on my radar and I don't like to be tempted into foods that I did not consciously choose.  I pushed the pretzels toward her side of the table and when she asked me if I wanted a few bites, I told her that I didn't want any.  She started to laugh.  "Since when do you turn down doughy, hot, salty goodness", she said.  I said, " I don't even like pretzels any more".  She knows me too well to fall for this, so she corners me with " You are a bold face liar".  We have the type of relationship where she can say that to me and not get hit.  I looked at her and said, " I am going to fake it till I make it and you can take your pretzel and eat it, because I don't want/need the carbs today".  She looked all serious for a moment, and said, " I have seen you do this a lot now, this faking till you make it".  And that made me realize that often when I am tempted, that is exactly what I do.  I fake it and keep faking it until the temptation is over.  Just telling myself that I really don't want it, can somehow increase my determination to do the right thing.  It creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that  pulls me toward my desired outcome. It is almost as if I dare myself to make this my new truth, and I don't like letting myself down, so the new reality emerges.  It is almost as if I reach out and pull the future I want right into my present. It's a psychological trick, but I think I have been using it for some time without realizing its power. 

I am going to try this strategy Elina! Fake it til I make it is like the psychological principle of where your head goes, your ass will follow eventually.

 You have such a great attitude!   I am just two weeks out and learning so much from your posts.   

Cheers, 
Trina

Through a lifetime of dieting, i have convinced myself that i truly dislike potates, pasta, rice, and fast food. I have literally zero desire or interest in these foods.

So... Yes, it works and i am smart enough to not test the waters to see if i am just faking my dislike or these things. Haha!

Now, if i could pull that jedi mind trick on myself with poporn, ice cream, and chocolate i never would have reached 360 pounds.

 Reese's Pieces have been calling my name...I haven't eaten candy since before my surgery and I keep telling myself I would have to start over if I had candy now!!!  I'm proud of the 90 days I've been candy free!  I think if I opened that door to sweets, carbs, ect...I would be in Big trouble. I don't want to waste my honeymoon period!!!!

I'm a huge fan of fake-it-till-you-make-it. It has worked for me many times!

awesome/. I have actually been doing this  relating to my inability to make the pounds come off no MATTER what I do.

I haven't
 fallen off my plan at all and instead I tell myself some variation of this very thing. I tell myself,well,OK,pounds aren't coming off right now,but THEY ARE GOING TO!  This also helps me make that reality mine psychologically,so good on u and keep on keeping on n I will too!

Thanks for this!! I think sitting with food I crave but don't want to eat is the hardest thing I've faced, and I'm not usually as successful at it as you are, so I'll take a lesson from the queen of self-discipline and give this a try next time (heaven help me!)

 Great idea! 

 I do this strategy often.  I just wi**** worked with other things tho.  Like repeatedly telling myself that I have big perky breasts and having it eventually be true one more when I wake up.  lol