What makes you eat? Learn to intercept the messages that tell you need food now, when in fact you are not hungry. This advice for losing weight may surprise you.
Food plays an important part in our lives. While choices of everyday foods and meals may become quite routine, most special events are planned with special treats to eat and drink. We are bombarded with food advertising, and astute marketers know how to draw our attention to their great new offerings and our old favorites. These, and other factors, shape the reasons we eat. What we eat at these times, and how much we eat, can have a significant influence on our body weight. Check out our advice for losing weight by reading the following list of situations and tick those that you identify with. Then read more about them, and look for solutions below.
Do you eat when you are not hungry?
Do you crave certain foods and eat more than you need?
Do you eat when you need mental diversion?
Do you cope with stress, anger or tiredness by eating?
Do you eat well in public, but pig out privately?
Advice for losing weight solutions:
Eating when you are not hungry Nutritionists advise that if you are not hungry at breakfast time, you should eat this meal anyway. Eating when you aren’t hungry only becomes a problem when you eat between meals, eat portions that are bigger than needed, or eat seconds when you do not require them. Only eat the foods you need, in the amounts required.
Food cravings When you are hungry a number of different foods can fill the gap. When you have a craving it feels as though only eating that food – perhaps in large amounts – will resolve the situation. The first step to coping with cravings is to learn more about what you crave, when and, if possible, why. You may then be able to prevent the craving by eliminating the cues. Another option is to find a way to give in to the craving, within your eating plan. For example, if you feel like chocolate then try some hot chocolate made with skim milk.
Cleaning your plate Many overweight people feel that they should not leave food on their plate, as it is wasteful or rude. Eating servings of food that provide more energy than you need on a regular basis is a definite recipe for weight gain. Try to avoid having excess food placed on your plate. In situations where your food has been served for you, look at the total volume before you start. Picture how much is excess to your needs by comparing the volume to what you usually eat, and start your meal knowing how much you are going to leave. Eat slowly and recognize when you are full – then stop.
Food as a mental diversion Eating is much more fun than doing boring, repetitive tasks, so it is understandable that people will break for a snack when faced with monotonous tasks. This is much more likely if they are hungry to start with. Prevent diversion eating when you are hungry by being sure to eat well balanced meals and planned snacks. Balance repetitive tasks with stimulating ones, and try using a short exercise routine as a substitute for food to break the boredom.
Eating to cope with emotions Pressing deadlines, family disagreements or other difficult situations increase our stress levels. Eating ice cream may seem like a solution at the time but it won’t make the problem go away. If you find yourself in stressful situations on a regular basis try keeping a food diary for a week, with a column where you write the trigger for the eating episode. Then sit back, when you are calm, and look for non-food ways to cope with difficult emotions.
“Public” versus “Private” Feeling the need to be seen to eat a perfect diet, but then giving in to what you really want when no one is watching can be caused by continuous ‘good-bad’ messages from the fad diet industry.A slice of cheesecake contains just as much fat if you eat it with friends at work, or alone. Try admitting that you would love to eat some cheesecake and look for someone to share it with you, that way you only ingest half the fat. Healthy eating is not about deprivation, it is about balancing all your food needs, and enjoyment is one of these.
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