Hi, this is Dr. Sandy, helping you tame your sugar Gremlin. In the last lesson we discovered thinking doesn't happen in emergencies, which is why you need to observe your triggers. Your life runs on habits. An environmental cue triggers a routine behavior which is rewarding. It probably isn't a bad thing. deciding what to wear is stressful enough.

Imagine having to decide which shoe to put on which foot first. All that thinking all the time would be stressful. Plus, it's a lot of work. But this lack of thinking in emergencies means you're vulnerable to sugar Gremlin moments. The official name for this is often called mindless eating. fixing the problem requires you to be a little less mind lis that is to pick up on your cues.

So, what cues would you be looking for? Hmm? You your routine is triggered by the way you are, who else is around what you just did, how you're feeling and the time of day. Let's look at a few examples. We'll start with problem places. The couch.

Yes, this is one spot health gurus up always picking on. Now sitting on the couch is a whole lot more comfortable in sitting on the floor. So sitting on the couch is rewarding in a and of itself, and sitting on the couch is not something that is inherently bad for you. In fact, even cavemen spent some time sitting on the couch, wiggling their toes. Studies of people still living more traditional lifestyles suggest couch sitting is a common pastime. The travel is what happens on the couch.

Stop thinking about what teenagers get up to on the couch. This material is PG rated. Most people when they flop onto the couch, flop in with something too much, even when they're not in the slightest bit hangry it's what we do. Now. Cue cookies, chips, chocolates, escape, the cup sitting a case of mindless Eating. Yes, your sugar Gremlin is getting up to mischief.

But it might not have been your sugar Gremlin that suggested you sit on the couch. Maybe it was your tired, smelly feet. Or it was time for a game or your favorite TV show. So the queue is sitting on the couch to take a load off to watch TV, the routine, grab some food and to the reward, a dollop of dopamine from the couch experience and the food. So should you burn the couch? Well, you could, that you'd find watching the game or TV quite as rewarding if you were sitting on The floor.

Maybe you decide to turn the TV off and take the dog for a walk. Good for you. Oops. But your feet and a few other things of you are really so you do need to sit down so the couch is back along with the cookies. Now that you know your sugar Gremlin has written the couch playbook, break the pattern. Lose the cookies.

If that feels too radical substitute with something a little less sugary. I won't suggest later sleeves. Yeah. But how about an apple the trick mixing up of the routine a bit. You still have an activity which corresponds to the queue and delivers a reward, but you've kept your sugar Gremlin out of the loop. Studies suggest the easiest way to change a habit is to figure out the cue, the routine and the reward and then rewrite it.

Quite literally write it out. When cue, I will routine because it provides me with reward. So, for the couch potatoes it might read. When I sit on the couch to watch the game, I'll bring a bowl of apples because it provides me with something to crunch While I enjoy the game, you will need to put on your thinking cap to identify your cues. Join me in the next lesson as we explore some common cues requires you to be a little less mind lis that is to pick up on your cues. So I'm curious would you be looking for