Improving Food Habits To Boost Weight Loss

Man is a creature of habits. Many strong habits are inculcated into our lifestyle since childhood. Although, old habits die hard, it is never too late to change them for weight control and a fit and healthier you.

What Are Habits?

Habits are learned behaviors that are automatic. Habits can be bad and good. Although we can continue with good habits, giving up on bad habits can be rather difficult. Many of them are hesitant to change to something new because of the fear of the unknown and are afraid to step out of the comfort zone. However, if you desire to lose weight and adapt to a healthy régime, you need to alter those bad eating habits and start thinking inversely about healthy diet to lose weight and transform your lifestyle.

Step By Step Process To Improve Eating Habits

Alterations in eating habits are the most difficult of all. Making sudden and radical changes to your eating habits could do more damage than good and will not help you succeed in the long run. Eating only cabbage soup might help you in short term weight loss, however, these will not workout in the long run.

To bring permanent changes to your eating lifestyle, you have to be thoughtful about the process in which you Identify, Substitute and Emphasize on your eating habits.

• IDENTIFY all your eating habits, good or bad, and list your common triggers for unhealthy eating
• SUBSTITUTE all bad eating habits with healthy eating habits
• EMPAHSIZE on your new and healthier eating habits

IDENTIFY

A process to identify your bad eating habits and the reasons behind it.

1. Create a Food Diary

To begin with, maintain a food diary and record everything that you eat, the time you ate and how you were feeling while eating; especially, if you were eating for non-hunger reasons.

This process will help us discover your eating habits. For example, some crave for sweets mid-afternoon to make up for the slump in energy levels.

2. Highlight Triggers for Unhealthy Eating

Now that you have a comprehensive list of your eating habits, highlight habits that lead you to overeat or eat when not hungry. Some of the most common practices seen in individuals are:

• Eating too quickly
• Skipping meals or breakfast
• Eating when not hungry
• Standing and eating
• Often digging into desserts
• Watching television while eating
• Feeling bored or stressed and eating to lift up your mood

3. One day at a time:

You can’t change all your eating habits at once. Take it one day at a time. Primarily focus on unhealthy habits that you face more often in your everyday life.

SUBSTITUTE

Now that you know your bad eating habits, you need to replace them with healthier options.

1. Alterations In How You Eat: 

Tips to change your eating habits and behaviors, like eating too fast, etc.

• Eat Slowly:

Your stomach takes at least 20 min to signal your brain and tell that it is full. However, many of us eat fast and complete our meal within 10 min. Therefore, you need to eat slowly and give your stomach the time to send a message to your brain. Place your fork on the table and pick it up only when you have completely swallowed the food in your mouth

• Keep A Track On Your Beverages:

Research indicates that about 22% calories consumed by an individual comes from drinks. Substitute your beverages with healthy drinks like water, tea, fresh juice or calorie free drinks.

• Eat Less, Chew More, Feel Fuller

Feeling fuller with lesser food is possible if your are concentrating on the food, number of times you chew, number of times you have swallowed, and visualizing the amount of food eaten by you.

• Don’t Drink While Eating:

Many of us tend to drink two to three sodas along with a meal. This adds a large number of calories to your diet. Hence, to help losing weight drink just 4 ounces of water during you meal. Have beverages before or after your meal.

• Do Not Follow Clean Plate Rule:

Clean plate rule is no rule to be followed as this will only lead you to gain weight. The last three or four bites that you eat to finish up could actually add hundreds of calories to your diet.

• Count And Snack

When eating from packages, you cannot determine the portions. Hence, count the number of chips, candies or biscuits while eating. The list of foods to avoid to lose weight included these.

2. Mind Over Food:

These tips will help you cheat on your stomach with the help of your mind.

• Thinking of Food Makes You Hungry

The thought of food releases signals pancreas to release insulin in the body. This additional insulin lowers your blood sugar levels and thus makes you hungry. Hence, it is important that you restrict your thoughts regarding food to curb your hunger.

• Junk Foods Taste Awful

Remember junk foods make you feel bloated, heavy and uncomfortable. Visualize the food clogging your arteries, making you lethargic, etc. The more unpleasant thoughts, the lesser you will crave for food.

• Food Is No Reward Or Comforter

Respecting food is important, and it should be used to nourish your body. Ice-creams, chocolates, candies, are no rewards. Find alternate ways to recompense yourself.

• Limit Food Decisions

Every day an individual makes about 200 decisions related to food. Therefore, it is always better to plan your diet ahead and stick to it. This way you are thinking less about the food.

• Dieting Is Short Term; Change Is Long Term

Studies have proved that 95% of the individuals, who lose weight, manage to regain it in no time. This is not only discouraging but also not good for health and hence those who diet for weight loss, stop because it is futile. When dieting, you need to make drastic changes to your eating habits, which cannot be followed in the long run. Hence, it is better to make smaller changes and take one day at a time so that you can get habituated to it.

• Pause Point For Cravings

Neglecting your cravings for your favorite food only make you want them more and more. The trick is to stop after a point; the pause point. Next time you carve for something, have small bites and stop and assess your cravings.

• When Not Hungry, STOP!

Never eat until you feel full. When you do so, you tend to eat twenty percent more calories. Hence, stop when you are no longer hungry, and you can always eat later.

• Confuse Your Nose

Confusing your senses can be a great way to reduce food intake. When trying to lose weight produce strong and varying aromas unrelated to the food you are eating.

EMPHASIZE

Emphasize on the healthy eating habits and give yourself time. Habits can’t be changed in a day, and you need to give yourself enough time to inculcate a new habit. When indulging in a bad habit assess yourself as to what provokes you to do it and how you could avoid it. Do not degrade yourself for one mistake. Learn to pat yourself for every effort taken by you to move away from bad eating habits. Remember the adage: Rome was not built in a day.