Internal Vs. External Control

What works best for you may just be a combination of both internal and external control when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Elements in your lifestyle may shift from one mechanism of control to the other all the way through your life. Some things will be elements that are introduced over time, others are ones you have battled with for years.

What is internal control?
This is when you do not need an external influence to help you make a decision. In fact, you cannot in all conscience choose to possibly make any other decision. This is when you would be going against your inner "compass" if you choose differently from your normal response. This requires no effort and is just "how things are."

What is external control?
External control is when an external rule dictates a behaviour. Some of these external controls are things like accountability, or achieving a set goal. Or you have joined a challenge and have committed to replace certain foods. You do this because you "know you should." This requires thought, a decision and an effort of your will. 


And example of the difference in control mechanisms in the 30 Day Challenge is when you look at the nutritional replacement list and you find that there are things on the list that you just don't have anyway, by default. It is likely that you have already reached INTERNAL control over these things and it would be "out of character" for you to start having them. For example, if you don't drink alcohol normally, you would then just have that as a "default" replacement food since you don't usually have it anyway. It is no great effort to continue to abstain, because you don't partake of it anyway. In the same way however, choosing something from the list of replacement foods that you DO usually have, but make a conscious decision to replace in order to choose a healthier option is an example of exercising EXTERNAL control. 

Perhaps by the end of the challenge or after a while this will shift to be an internal mechanism of control. You no longer desire the thing that you chose to replace and it becomes a "default" element that you replace on a normal everyday basis which takes no more conscious effort or thought. It just is part of who you are and what you do. 

What Participants had to say:

Elisabeth said, 

"External controls - I want to see a good number on the scale.

Internal controls - my body doesn't seem to want foods that don't agree with me (wheat!)"

Sheila wrote,

"Food - it seems to me that the internal control is well established -my body knows that too much sodium is going to upset the balance; I was stopped in the supermarket yesterday by two journalists from an inhouse magazine - Fresh Living - to check my basket and my reasons for purchase. Luckily I was shopping for myself!! It was all healthy, fresh food - no processing in sight other than fat free cottage cheeses. "

Anna wrote. 

"For me, internal control means watching food combinations. I have to constantly be aware of what I put in my mouth and it is a learning process to find what 'upsets' me. I have found that coffee with milk is what sets me off and when I am finished the challenge, I will try a cup of black coffee to see if there is a difference. I am also giving up on green grapes as they give me heartburn. This is what I am hoping to achieve - to be able to use this internal control to say I don't need this anyhow."

Betty wrote, 

"Re the internal/external controls – I have always know that I would have to eliminate bread and cheese if I was ever going to lose the muffin top, but it took this challenge to get me to do that, so I guess that’s the external control. I will continue along with this as much as possible as I am finding a few other problems that I had before have disappeared (stomach pains).

I’m pretty good at staying away from the really bad things like fries, chips and processed foods – that’s not to say that I don’t love these food groups, but I know that they are unhealthy so only have once in a while."

Crystal wrote,

"Internal and external control response: I would say external currently is my soda pop addiction. While its in control that's still by choice. I know it would be easy to fall back into the old habit. I'm not keeping cola in the house and my family is supporting me. 

Internal control would be rich fatty things. While I enjoy a taste my body now immediately puts on the brakes before my mind needs to kick in."

Nicole wrote,

"I have internal control over soda, coffee (almost all caffeine really), and highly processed foods. I don't crave 'em at all.

I am learning external control over delicious sugary snacks, like cake, cupcakes, brownies, chocolate truffles, and other high-end sweet snacks by replacing them with naturally sweet snacks, like fruit. I am also learning external control over white carbs, like bread, white rice, white potatoes, etc. by replacing them with more complex carbs, like sprouted grains. "

What forms of internal and external control mechanisms effect you in your life?

Email me and let me know what you think.

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out"

Tip #6 from Igor and your "get out of jail" card

Igor Klibanov is CEO of Fitness Solutions Plus and he has another tip for us.

Tip 6: Cardio is good, but don't do too much of it, and don't do it exclusively. A lot of people run into problems when they start doing cardio more than 3 times per week for 30 minutes, or if that's all they do. The problem: they start to put on body fat. Surprise! To understand why doing excessive and exclusive cardio can make you put on body fat, read this article: Aerobic exercise can make you fat

by Igor klibanov

www.torontofitnessonline.com

 

YOUR "GET OUT OF JAIL" CARD

I am still off coffee! Headaches are diminishing by the day, but by day end there is a dull ache that is rather annoying! Considering at one point I was drinking up to 10 cups of espresso in a day (There I confessed!) it is not surprising that it is taking so long to clear out of my system.

So we made it to day 14! Now what?

I have a surprise for you! This applies to day 14 - day 30 and you can use this ONCE!!!
ONCE ONLY LADIES, if you choose to. It is kinda like a "get out of jail" card. Not that you actually are in jail if you eat something you shouldn't, but sometimes we feel like we are. For those of you taking the challenge seriously (and seeing amazing results, I might add) you will love this!

I realize that once you get to focusing on replacing a few things on the replacement list....you sometimes get something that is dairy and wheat free, but has a little sugar, or it is sugar and grain free, but has dairy, or it has wheat, but no dairy or sugar....you get the idea?
NO STRESS........this "get out of jail " card will help you out there.....

OR

You go to a friend for dinner and they are serving ALL the things on your list you can't eat. What to do? Are you going to stress? No, you are going to make the best choices you can and use your "get out of jail " card.

This is how it works, to use your get out of jail card, you have to do this:

1. Eat a salad with vinaigrette dressing first.
2. Eat your protein and vegetables first.
3. Eat whatever you want....yes WHATEVER......
4. Abide by the "once my butt leaves the seat the meal is OVER" rule. NO going back for seconds! 
5. Report back to me.

That is it, then you have used up your one time, EAT WHATEVER, get out of jail card!

How does that sound to you? You may want to save that up for when you are really in a quandary as to what to eat, or you are at the end of the month and the budget is short. You can use it when you are invited out to dinner, or there is a special occasion.

BUT....YOU HAVE TO ABIDE BY THE RULES STIPULATED. (See rules 1 - 5 above in green)

For those of you on the challenge I want you to think about something. Some of you have reported in saying...."I stuck to not eating white carbs, except for eating such and such..." or you "mostly avoided such and such." Now stop and think about that for a moment, did you stick to it, or didn't you? I am not talking about the things you are working on reducing, but the things you have committed to replacing on the challenge. Some of you have eliminated EVERYTHING on the list, and wow, you will know what it is like to eat whole foods, since everything else has those things in it that you can't eat. I know it is not easy.

If there is and "except for" in your thinking I want to encourage you towards avoiding the "almost did it" mentality in the next 14 days. Tighten up your micro amounts of things creeping in JUST for the next 14 days. I have every confidence that you can do it, if you decide to. All it takes is a decision.

I will be doing it too, don't worry, so let's tighten up our standards and it will pay off. You are not alone in this, you have the support of your friends and family and of course, fellow participants.


For the full list of replacement foods on this challenge, click here.  Please note that I have added Sodium to the list, not to replace it, but to be aware of how much you consume and to work towards reducing it if you are having too much.

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.

Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
Join me on facebook.  www.melonyteague.com