We eat for a variety of reasons, MOST of which have nothing to do with nourishing our body. In fact, a study showed that there are some common, controllable behavior patterns that contribute to weight problems. You will lose weight more effectively and find it easier to maintain your goal weight, if you make changes in any of the areas that you recognize as your own patterns.
Read the following behavior patterns and note the patterns that you realize are expressed in your eating experiences. Once you bring this information into your consciousness, you will be able to prepare some strategies for overcoming these problematic behaviors.
Some destructive behavior patterns are:
Emotional Eating. Do you eat when you are not hungry? Do you find yourself looking for something to eat in response to emotions such as anxiety, anger, or stress? Even boredom or procrastination can lead to eating when not necessary. So, you are taking in food your body doesn’t need, that will ultimately be stored as fat.
Ineffective Portion Control. This is much like emotional eating, because we take in food we don’t need. Do you eat too fast or simply ignore, override or miss your internal signals of fullness? Sometimes its pleasure related because the food tastes so good; it may be psychological from past messages such as “You must clean your plate.”. Regardless of where it comes from, if this is your pattern, you are probably storing excess calories as fat.
Snacking Too Much. Do you eat too many snacks or too much at snack time? This could cause you to gain weight. Furthermore, every morsel that you put into your mouth counts. Do you eat while cooking? This can be a BIG problem for some people.
Improper Food Choices. Have you been able to eliminate white sugar and white flour from your diet? Eating sugar (or drinking it in the form of soft drinks) results in a reaction in your body that leads to fat storage. Once you’ve made a bad choice in a day, do you figure the day is ruined so you might as well have whatever you want and start again tomorrow? Do you deprive yourself, of something you really want for a while, then suddenly find that you can’t resist that food?
Poor Timing of Eating. Do you eat after 7:30 PM? How many meals a day do you eat? Do you skip meals? Do you eat a heavy meal in the evening?
Happy-Go-Lucky Restaurant Eating. When out at a restaurant, are you tempted to make improper choices or eat too much? Restaurant portions are way too large and for some people, the temptation to select inappropriate menu items is daunting – those pictures make the food look so good!
Could you relate to any of the behavior patterns – I’ll bet you did!! Most of us do!
The following are some strategies that you can use to begin to overcome these destructive patterns:
Emotional Eating: Express your feelings directly, write in a journal, use stress management techniques (that don’t involve eating!), and finally before you eat anything think about your motivation for eating. Say to yourself – “I’m in control of my choices; is this what I choose?” What works for you?
Ineffective Portion Control: Slow down your eating, eat only at a table, set your fork down after every bite, and be mindful of your eating experience. What works for you?
Snacking Too Much: Eat snacks that are nutritious and in the right portion, prepare for snacking ahead of time by purchasing appropriate snacks, commit to writing everything that you eat in your food diary. What works for you?
Improper Food Choices: Gradually wean off white sugar and white flour including sodas, every deprive yourself of something totally, allow yourself to eat some favorite foods in moderation occasionally, don’t focus your thoughts on what you don’t have, and remember that one small deviation in a day is just that, don’t allow it to ruin an entire day of healthy eating. What works for you?
Poor Timing of Eating: Never skip a meal….you’ll eventually make up for it sometime during the day, try eating 6 smaller meals per day with no late night snacking, eating after 7:30 PM should be avoided since metabolism slows at night and calories are burned more slowly while sleeping. What works for you?
Happy-Go-Lucky Restaurant Eating: Ask for the to-go box at the beginning of the meal and put half of your food in the box before you start eating, make healthy food choices, ask for your food to be prepared according to your desires….grilled instead of fried, etc., focus on the social aspect of the event, commit to writing everything that you eat in your food diary. What works for you?
Use these and your own strategies to help overcome behavior patterns that affect your eating!