Disciplining My Inner Child

The past couple of weeks I have been stuck in a really bad cycle of bingeing. I’ve just been eating whatever I want, whenever I want, in whatever quantities I want. I go to the grocery store with the intentions of stocking up on fruits, veggies, yogurt, lean meats, oatmeal, and all the other makings of a healthy diet but once I get there I find myself trolling the various aisles just looking for something that will taste good. I will go up and down the bakery aisle to see if there is some fabulous pastry, bread, or cooke that must be tried. I wander through the freezer section, admiring the various flavors of Ben and Jerry’s debating: do I get the tried and true Chocolate Fudge Brownie or go for something new? Or maybe I should choose fudgecicles or Eskimo pies or ice cream sandwiches. And often I don’t choose. I just get them all.

When I take the time to think about and write about this behavior, I realize that I am acting like a spoiled, overindulged child. If there is such a thing as an inner child, mine is definitely in need of some discipline, some tough love, if you will. My inner child wants everything and wants it right now. Even though I know my health is suffering, my happiness is suffering, my physical comfort is suffering, I cave in to the whining tantrums of this bratty, greedy child. (“But everyone else gets to have ice cream!”) Why do I do this? I guess that much like a real child throwing a tantrum in public it is just a whole lot easier to give that child what she wants in that moment to stop the tantrum. This solves a short-term problem but just continues to exacerbate the long-term problem.

So what is the solution? I don’t have any children so I am unpracticed at the art of disciplining a child. Dr. Spock I am not. But I do know how to Google! So I found an article by Merry Wallace on the Discovery Health website that gives some ideas on what to do and what not to do when disciplining a child. I thought a lot of her suggestions could be used to tame my own bratty inner child.

Here are a few of the ideas from the article and how I can use them to create some discipline for myself.

1) State your limits clearly and firmly – Today you are shopping for healthy foods, not extra treats.
2) Discuss limits in advance – I equate this to having a shopping list prepared before heading to the store.
3) Use rewards to encourage a particular behavior – If you complete your shopping trip with no extra goodies in your basket, you can buy some sugar free gum at the checkout counter.
4) Acknowledge wishes – I know you wish you could buy some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream but it is not on the list for today. Maybe another time you can get some.
5) Externalizing a rule (You will decrease the battle of wills if you objectify the reason for the rule) – You cannot buy ice cream or other treats today because if you eat them you will feel physically sick, you will prolong the achievement of your weight loss goals, and you will be disappointed in yourself.
6) Maintain realistic expectations – Changing behavior is hard and if I slip up I will not berate myself. I will forgive myself and try to do better the next time.

I am really going to try to keep these things in mind the next time I go shop. After all, what is more annoying than a kid in a grocery store throwing a fit?......especially when she is 38.