By Mike Bunata
Whether you are aware of it or not, you probably have developed eating habits that interfere with your weight loss. When your habits control your behavior, it makes it difficult to lose weight. Making radical changes all at once may not be the best choice because you may have a hard time giving up old habits. However, it is a good idea to identify any bad habits you have so you become aware of them, and then you can work at overcoming them and being successful with your weight loss goals.
To do that, you may need to keep a food diary for a while before you make big changes to your diet. You are not only interested in what and how much you eat, but also why and how you eat. Before long, you will become aware of behaviors you have that are making you overweight. Here are a few bad eating patterns you may have:
Eating too fast.
Eating while standing up.
Eating while driving.
Eating on the run.
Always cleaning your plate.
Eating when you are not really hungry.
Mindless eating while watching TV.
Always having dessert with meals.
Drinking calories.
Routinely skipping breakfast or lunch.
Eating out often.
Eating from vending machines.
When you have identified eating behaviors that contribute to overeating and poor choices, it is time to work on changing those behaviors. It may be difficult at first, especially if the habits are life-long. Focus on the new behaviors you are replacing them with so you can feel good about the choices you make. Here are some steps you can take.
Make it a point to practice conscious eating. That means you only eat when you are sitting at the table. If you grab food on the run, or eat while standing or driving, your mind is engaged elsewhere and you are practicing mindless eating. You can consume hundreds of calories and not even remember eating anything. You won't feel satisfied emotionally or physically. Mindless eating is also the danger when you snack while watching TV or surfing on the computer. Therefore, make a commitment to only eat meals and snacks when you are seated at the table and your full attention is on the food.
If you are aware and counting the number of cookies you are eating, you may stop sooner than you would if you don't keep track. Also, eat slowly so it seems like you are eating more and your stomach has a chance to catch up with what you are feeding it. Always leave something on your plate, even if it is a small amount so you can break the habit of cleaning your plate when you are past the point of being full.
Another change you can make to help with weight loss is to bring a lunch from home rather than eating out or eating from vending machines. That way you can control the ingredients and calories. Also, if you are in the habit of eating a sweet dessert after your meals, substitute fruit such as grapes or berries so you can get a sweet fix that won't derail your weight loss plans. It also helps to replace high calorie sodas and other drinks with zero calorie water.
What you eat is very important when you want to lose weight but how you eat is important too. Mindless eating contributes to obesity. So keep track of the foods you put in your mouth so they don't wind up on your hips.
Mike has been writing articles for a couple of years now. His latest passion is on Trout Fishing. He just created a page in his site on Trout Fishing Tips. When you get a minute and you love to fish yourself come check out his site.