Are You Sabotaging Your Weight Loss?
If you find that you’re not losing weight no matter how hard you try, it could be due to your eating habits. It’s not just what you eat but how, why and where that could be vital when it comes to weight loss.
Anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss should know that food itself is only a part of a much more complicated problem. In modern society it is quite common to eat alone, to snatch a quick bite between appointments at work and to snack in front of the TV. These, together with other eating styles have been linked by recent research to weight gain. It was also shown that overeating was often associated to negative feelings and that overweight people, whilst eating more, enjoyed food less.
The most important thing is to recognize any damaging patterns in your eating behaviour and start making changes in order to make any significant difference to your weight loss. Let’s take a look at what might be the problem.
- Are you an emotional eater?
Is food more than just fuel for you, do you find comfort in eating when things go wrong or when you are bored or feel angry or stressed? Studies have linked anxiety, depression and anger with overeating for many people, and when stressed they tend to eat high fat foods and high sugar snacks instead of the healthier options. You need to change the way you eat. A bar of chocolate or an iced bun might make you feel better for about 10 minutes but it won’t help with whatever prompted you to eat it in the first place. Changing this habit is quite difficult because food and the desire to eat are closely related to our emotions.
The best way to deal with this is to keep a diary of what you eat and how you feel before and after to help you distinguish between real hunger and emotional hunger. Real hunger pains feel like a gnawing in the pit of your stomach, if on the other hand you last ate a few hours prior to getting the urge to eat, it is very unlikely that you are really hungry. Try and find something else to distract you, go for a walk, talk to a friend, have a warm soothing bath, whatever it takes that doesn’t involve food.
- Are you constantly worrying about what you can or can’t eat?
Is every day a struggle, are you constantly counting calories and telling yourself what you can and what you can’t eat? Has food become an obsession, do you weigh yourself constantly. Then you are no longer in control, food is in control of you.
In order to take back control you must understand that eating for health isn’t about willpower; Forget calorie counting and work out a healthy eating program with good portion control and instead of wasting time counting calories use the time towards regular exercise. Plan your week’s menu and stick to it, make a list and shop online if it helps you stick to it and don’t buy foods that you’re going to worry about eating, if they’re not in the cupboard, there’s nothing to fret about.
- Are you hooked on a fast fix?
You know that you should eat freshly prepared food and that you should check what is on the food labels but because you’re always busy and haven’t got time to plan you often miss breakfast and then find yourself grabbing a pastry mid morning and a ready meal in the evening. You rely far too much on ready meals and fast food which is high in calories, sugar and salt.
Promise yourself that for at least one week you will eat fresh wholesome food as often as possible. Give yourself some time to plan and enjoying cooking, try some new foods and new recipes and you’ll find that you’ll enjoy it more and won’t rely on fast food so much.
- Are you an unconscious eater ?
Do you come home and find yourself at the fridge? Do you switch on the TV, grab a packet of crisps or biscuits and before you know it they’re all gone! I bet you don’t even remember eating them, well you’re not alone, most people don’t notice what they eat when they’re watching TV or doing something else. Just remember that a couple of extra biscuits or a packet of crisps a day can add up to 5-10 lbs weight gain a year.
It is vital that you become aware of what you eat so keeping a record is very helpful. You must make sure to be aware of what you eat so make sure you dish out what you are going to eat on a plate or small bowl and put the rest away.
- Are you always eating on the run?
Are you constantly eating on the run, gulping down the food wherever you are, rarely sharing a meal with others? If this is the case you may never really feel satisfied and eat more to compensate. Make sure you sit down at the breakfast table with the family instead of grabbing a toast and running out of the house. Be conscious of what you are eating, making sure to savour every morsel, and put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls. Take your time to enable your body to get the message to your brain that you have had enough.
- Is your food loaded with meaning?
Do you have "good" or "bad" food, "allowed" or "banned" food, are you constantly struggling with cravings in order to stay on the straight and narrow? You feel guilty every time you eat “bad or banned” foods and deprived when you don’t. There is no such thing as good or bad foods, just some that are a better option if you want to lose weight. Stop denying yourself all the foods you love, instead just eat less of them and not so often. If chocolate is your thing just buy a small bar and when you do eat it savour every mouthful. You will find that if you are flexible in what you eat and aware of portion size you will be more successful in losing weight and keeping it off.
