Use same plan to lose weight, curb spending
If losing weight and spending less tops your New Year’s resolution list, keep reading.
Lean Body, Fat Wallet, a new book by financial expert Ellie Kay and health expert Danna Demetre, says we can use the same principles to get a grip on our bank balances and shrink our waistline.
As a young woman, Demetre struggled with emotional eating issues. “I found in the years I was out of control with my eating, I was out of control with my spending as well,” she says.
While the authors say not everyone who struggles with weight also has money problems, Demetre estimates over 50 per cent of the population do have issues with both. The reason? “Our culture promotes immediate gratification,” Demetre says. “We want to be thin, but we want to eat everything. We want to be out of debt and yet we don’t want to wait to get the things we want; we want to put it on credit.”
Setting unrealistic expectations is a key reason Kay and Demetre argue we fail to reach our financial and weight loss goals.
Did you resolve to lose 30 pounds by your sister’s wedding next month, or pay off your $ 20,000 in student loans this year by following a budget that doesn’t allow any room for spending on fun?
“People will often set a budget or a weight loss goal that’s
so unrealistic that it’s destined for failure,” Kay says.
When making resolutions, consider Kay and Demetre’s tips that promote healthy living and a healthy wallet.
1. You are what you think. Having a positive mindset and believing that you can change your behaviour is key to overcoming the bad habits that led to this point. If you think you can’t ever get out of debt or that you’ll never be able to fit into a smaller dress size, the likelihood is you won’t.
2. Determine. Delay. Distract. Called the 3 Ds, Kay and Demetre says these principles
are key to avoiding temptation and building self- control.
Determining what you will order before going to a restaurant for dinner can prevent you from being tempted by the unhealthy options that confront you on the menu just as determining what you need to buy and sticking to that list can keep your budget under control.
Delaying gratification by taking 24 hours to think about whether you’re going to purchase the dress you saw in the store window, or taking a 15- minute break after eating dinner before delving into dessert, giving yourself time to feel
full or recognize you don’t really need that dress, will help avoid impulse buys and calories.
Distracting yourself by stepping away from the dessert table or going for a walk in the park instead of in the shopping mall can help break impulsive patterns of behaviour.
3. In and out. Just as keeping track of income and expenses can help you meet your financial goals, tracking calories consumed and burned can help you meet weight loss goals. Try free apps such as mint. com to get a grip on your finances or MyFitnessPal for calorie counting.