Does this sound familiar?

“One slice of pizza won’t ruin your entire day.”

“C’mon just have ONE martini.”

AND my favorite…. “Would a cupcake kill ya?”

Let’s be real… how many times has something similar like this to YOU as you pick up veggies at a party or order water and a gourmet salad at a restaurant instead of a burger, fries, and a beer?

If you feel like whenever you try to make efforts towards changing your lifestyle or making healthier food choices – there’s always something or someone trying to spoil your successes- then this blog post is for you! 

In our overindulged, “portion distortion world”, there are opportunities to experience sabotage (especially with food) around every corner. Whether it’s self-sabotage or another person or thing acting as a saboteur, it’s super important to know how to keep ourselves in the driver’s seat when we make choices that affect our health, happiness, and lives!

And when we give into the sabotaging behavior, it can definitely leave us feeling like we’ve failed, until we really SEE THROUGH the sabotage and take steps to stopping it!

This is so important, especially when you’re planning and creating your most vibrant health, trying to eat whole, nutrient dense food…. 

First, let’s define saboteur.  Dictionary.com defines it as a person who commits or practices sabotage.  So, this could be you or someone else (insert spouse, parent, friend or your stepping on the scale….) and when this behavior comes up, it’s really just an opportunity for you to build awareness around it and to acknowledge it’s happening and also to help EMPOWER you.

Use these THREE key steps to getting past the sabotage so you can stay on track to reach your goals….

See through the sabotage

Your friends, family, spouse or partner see you making lifestyle changes and they may make sabotaging comments (consciously or subconsciously) to derail YOU. I encourage you to see through their own sabotaging behaviors being projected onto you.  They may do this for various reasons…maybe so they don’t need to question themselves or feel uncomfortable. Let’s face it, making changes is uncomfortable and hard work. Most people love to stay comfy in the world they know.  If this happens to you and you’re aware this could potentially be a setback for you, be ready to put on those sabotaging sunglasses and reflect back what you’re hearing from that person so you can stick to your goals. You can take a proactive approach as well, and let your friends and family know you’ve got a plan around your food and you’d love their respect and support in sticking to it.

Step UP to the sabotage or the saboteur

We all have it – we all do these sabotaging behaviors to ourselves and I’m sure we’ve done it to others – I’m no saint here. BUT, you can still step up to others and to yourself when you recognize a moment of sabotage happening. If you don’t like what someone’s saying or the snide comments that you’re making to yourself… you can give your friends an example… it goes a little something like this…

Your friend is offering you up drinks/pizza/cakes…(whatever yummy food for you that you’re trying to stay away from). 

I encourage you to come up with a response so you have it in your back pocket when the offer of food may be a bit too hard to resist.  Get comfortable saying something like,  “I’m really working towards my goals of X and when you keep offering me food, it’s not helping me.  I’d really appreciate your support with this and please respect when I decline an offer.”

So yes, this can get a little uncomfortable for some… but it’s totally truth and you’re saying it from a space from light and love. And you may even be helping your friend rethink their actions around food in the future.

Forget the food altogether

There is no rule that says spending time with friends and family means going out to eat every time. If you are having a really hard time (skipping the wine, chips/fries, etc) there are so many amazing other group activities that don’t involve food. Go do something fun and new: biking, a yoga class, visit a museum, rock climbing, a hike in nature… Think of all the money you’re going to save on food and bar tabs!

Once you’ve read the blog I’d love to hear your insights on how YOU stop the sabotage!

What have you done in the past to stop the sabotage and what will you do differently after reading these tips?