How do we create a healthy habit towards food?
We form strong habits with food, that can be difficult to over come, but with a little perseverance and routine we can make changes! Ultimately a lot of our eating habits will stem from childhood, some good, some bad. However making sudden changes like following a quick fix diet, will help you loose weight quickly, but will not aid you in the long run and neither will it fix those well embedded eating habits!
In order to come to terms with your eating you must be honest with yourself and reflect on your good and bad eating habits, what are your triggers when you reach for a whole packet of biscuits, or when you eat just because your bored?!
The one thing I will tell all my clients to do at the start if their goal is weight loss, is to keep an honest food diary, I usually advise My Fitness Pal or Cronometer, or you can simply write it down with a time log next to it. This will give you an idea if your craving that sweet snack to help you through the mid afternoon slump or if your a late night snacker. Its also a good idea to keep a note of how your feeling when you dive in for those unhealthy snacks, were you feeling stressed, tired, sad, this helps you to start to recognise triggers.
The next thing to do is to think about some of those eating habits that your looking to change, do you clean your plate even though your full, do you eat quickly, perhaps you eat standing up, do you skip meals, do you always need a pudding or perhaps you eat when your not hungry…somethings to think about. Try to make a list and think of some of your own.
Choose a few habits you have recognised that are holding you back in your weight loss goal and start working on them, don’t forget to be kind to yourself and recognise little things like eating the fruit for deserts, cutting back to 1 can of fizzy drink a day….etc this is all good progress and a step in the right direction.
Whenever I’m speaking with clients, one of common causes to our mindless eating is either environmental cues or emotional cues. The key is to recognise those triggers, here are few you may recognise, I certainly do!
Common triggers for eating when not hungry are:
Opening up the cupboards and seeing your favourite treats.
Sitting at home watching television.
Before or after a stressful situation at work.
Coming home after work and having no idea what’s for dinner.
Having someone offer you a dish they made “just for you!”
Seeing a treats at work in the office (Probably not so much of this now, but still).
Feeling bored or tired and thinking food might offer a pick-me-up.
Had a bad day turns to the sweet treat for comfort.
Try to make a list of your own cues and circle a few that really get you everyday and that your sick of doing an want to change! What can you do to avoid this said cue or situation, for example not knowing what to have for dinner, could you plan ahead for the week perhaps, will save time and money and your waistline!
Things that are more tricky to avoid, perhaps the unhealthy snacks at the office, again try to plan ahead, bring in some healthier alternatives, perhaps eat a healthy snack before the treats get laid out so your not so interested! Or perhaps a meal out that you would usually over eat at, perhaps eating a healthy snack before you go out to avoid overeating.
So you’ve recognised some cues that your willing to work on, now what! We need to replace these unhealthy habits with some healthier choices: If you find you eat too fast, make sure your not on your phone or watching TV, as this draws your attention away from how fast your actually eating. Other options could be to put your folk down between bites and really focus and enjoy what you're eating. Be in tune with your body and recognise when you're starting to feel full.
If you find yourself eating when bored, tired, stressed, anxious, try to find a non eating activity like, going for a short walk, make a cup of tea, call a friend, pick up a book, or mediate, whatever will make you feel better and refocus.
Lastly, habits take time to create, so be kind to yourself and don’t get too disheartened when you fall back to the cue, try to ask yourself why, when did it start and what changes could you make to prevent any further disruption.
Be present, be mindful, be patient and love your body! You will get there one day at a time.
Hope you found this useful and any questions please do share, happy to help.
F xx