Are you on an eating plan, but the world seems to be getting in your way?  A way to help is to use what I call “Food Jujitsu”.  I usually plan  my weeks and understand what I’m going to eat, especially if there are gatherings planned.  That was no different this last weekend when I knew I was going to be at a birthday party.  At birthday parties the question is always will I eat the food.  More importantly will I be eating the cake and ice cream?

After evaluating my previous eating choices and what choices I could make that week it was a no brainer.  Cake and ice cream it is!  I now could not wait till Saturday (I am not able to say no to ice cream).  Saturday finally arrived and I was met with a surprise, the party got moved to Sunday!

Typically in my past (maybe you can relate) when my eating plans don’t go the way I want all bets are off. I would eat unhealthy till the new week began.  I’m in a different spot now and this is where I hope I can help you on your journey. This brings me to applying food jujitsu to my situation.

In a jujitsu match, it’s all about energy flow.  Your goal is to manipulate your opponents energy flow to score points.  To do that each of you try to align with each other’s energy flow,  redirect the energy, and try to score a point by pinning them.  That’s no different with life. It throws us off our plans and we must apply jujitsu techniques to handle those situations.  

There are 5 steps to applying the jujitsu technique to our skewed plans:

1. Slow Down (alignment)-We need to think clearly and get emotional will only hinder us.  Remember it’s one day, and day does not hurt us.  It’s when we constantly make poor choices we should be concerned.
2. Reframe Your Mindset (alignment)-Managing your state allows you set yourself up to control, understand the situation, and make better choices.
3. Get the facts (alignment)- By understanding your options, with less emotions, you can still make a good choice or make the best out of the situation.  If your still emotional go back to step #2.
4. Make a decision (Redirect)- If you do steps 1-3 right, then it should be easy to make a decision (does not always mean the healthy option).  By committing to a decision regardless of it’s consequences, it gives you full control and closure.
5. Move On (Take the Point)-If you truly make a decision then you should not feel guilty for missing out or guilty for making the unhealthy choice.  Owning your choice and learn from the experience is the best thing you can do if your in the situation again.  There is no point in beating yourself up for a decision that has passed, just move on.

I actually had to apply food jujitsu multiple times on the weekend as lots of things did not go according to plan. By applying those 5 steps over and over again it saved my weekend.  In the past I would have ended the week bloated, feeling gross, and regretting the choices I made.

You can follow Angelo on Instagram @angelo_santitto and you can learn more about how healthy road maps that can help you on your health and fitness journey.