Check Your Eating Habits

Posted by Golden on August 14th, 2010

If you only eat when you are hungry, there are chances you will have less trouble reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Most people are not in touch with the hunger signals but only eat in response to stress and emotional triggers.

To successfully lose weight you have to get in touch with those forces that form your eating habits. That is, how you feel about food and why you feel the need to eat even when you are not hungry.

Here are four important steps that can help you check your eating habits.

Step 1: know your habits don?t let your habits know you

Know your eating habits and keep track of those situations where you find yourself craving to eat foods that are not necessary and healthy. Write it down somewhere you can access them easily. Keep a list of when, why and what you eat for a few days. See if any pattern emerges. Ask yourself if your eating habits have a trigger that is if you eat when you are stressed, bored, angry, anxious, socially or emotionally pressured. If the answer is yes, then try these few tips;

?before eating anything ask yourself if you are really hungry. If the answer is no, then just take a glass of water, you may just be thirsty after all.

?learn how to refuse firmly and gracefully when people offer you food you don?t think fit into your daily healthy menu.

?do something to distract yourself when you feel the beginnings of a craving, like jogging, running errands or call a friend.

?direct emotional anger, stress etc away from food and tackle its source head on. Clean the house, take a walk and the urge to eat will pass.

?if you just cannot help yourself, take a vegetable or fruit and it may satisfy your craving.

Step 2: change gradually

After you have identified an eating habit that you want to change, bear in mind that gradual change is the key. You can prevent thoughts and feelings of food from standing in the way of your weight loss program. Work on one specific area at a time. Be aware of what you want to change. Move on to the next eating habit and work on it.

Step 3: plan ahead of yourself

You may not even be aware of your eating habits because they are so well embedded. It helps if you mentally rehearse eating healthier foods. Constantly imagining it helps you to keep better perspective.

Step 4: keep a positive attitude

Do not dwell on what you are giving up to reach a healthy weight. Instead concentrate on what you are gaining.

Making changes to your eating habits can be enjoyable soon the results will become evident.