How to handle surprise temptations and peer pressure while dieting

For many things, intermittent fasting alone can be quite freeing in the sense that, if you know you'll be eating out later, you can "save up the calories" by pushing your fast a little later, and choose certain foods that will keep you mostly on track with your diet.

It's not a magic pill though, and overeating can and will happen, which as fine as long as it's not all the time.

If you're like I was, you constantly blow your diet on a weekly or even daily basis. Food temptations, a friend offers you a cupcake or invites you to get a couple beers (and orders nachos...you'll just have one, right?), can and will keep you from getting the body you want until your deathbed if you don't straighten out your priorities.

For me, it was about making my desire to get fit greater than the pleasure and stress relief that food would bring me.

I can't tell you how to make that shift, because everyone has different reasons why they can be so easily swung by a temptation, but I can tell you how I've managed to finally be consistent with my diet.

I believe it was a snow ball effect, made up from the combination of absorbing books upon books of nutrition information, paying far greater attention to my body and mind's reaction to inputs, and the positive feedback from small dieting successes using intermittent fasting as a primary catalyst.

All of that combined experience is now at the forefront of my mind when someone offers me a slice of pizza. I can enjoy a slice on occasion, but what matters is that the decision is no longer easily veered by the thought of pleasure.

So, what can you do when someone offers you that slice?

First, In my experience, try to develop a greater awareness of how foods affect you. Try to consider how the food makes you feel AFTER you eat it. If you've been eating poorly your whole life it might be hard to notice this. Try a 30-day healthy eating challenge like (Whole30)[http://whole30.com] to give yourself a reset of sorts so that you can get more in touch with food and how it affects you.

Second, get addicted to progress. Find a way to make hitting your goals more powerful than food. Write down the reasons why you want to be fit, are they just about looking better? How about living longer so you can watch your grandchildren grow up. Less medical bills, think big with these goals and reference them regularly.

That's it for now. Hopefully that was of some help.

What are your reasons for getting fit? I'd love to hear about it. Tweet me or shoot me an email below.