Tips for improving eating habits for better health
Mark A. Mahoney
The issue of obesity continues to be of major significance when related to the issue of COVID-19 infection. However, the disease of obesity also has negative effects on an individual’s overall health status.
Looking at suggestions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can help provide food for thought and allow us to make more informed decisions which may assist us in achieving and/or maintaining a healthier lifestyle and better quality of life.
More:Are you hungry? Listen to your body to develop healthy eating habits | Anna Jones
When it comes to eating, we have strong habits. Some are good (“I always eat breakfast”), and some are not so good (“I always clean my plate”). Although many of our eating habits were established during childhood, it doesn’t mean it’s too late to change them.
Making sudden, radical changes to eating habits such as eating nothing but cabbage soup, can lead to short term weight loss. However, such radical changes are neither healthy nor a good idea, and won’t be successful in the long run. Permanently improving your eating habits requires a thoughtful approach.
- Reflect on all your specific eating habits, both good and bad; and your common triggers for unhealthy eating.
- Replace your unhealthy eating habits with healthier ones
- Reinforce your new, healthier eating habits.
Reflect
1. Create a list of your eating habits. Keep a food diary for a few days. Write down everything you eat and the time of day you eat it. For example, you might discover that you always seek a sweet snack to get you through the mid-afternoon energy slump. It’s good to note how you were feeling when you decided to eat, especially if you were eating when not hungry. Were you tired? Stressed out?
2. Highlight the habits on your list that may be leading you to overeat. Common eating habits that can lead to weight gain are:
- Eating too fast
- Always cleaning your plate
- Eating when not hungry
- Always eating dessert
- Skipping meals (or maybe just breakfast)
3. Look at unhealthy eating habits you’ve highlighted. Be sure you’ve identified all the triggers that cause you to engage in those habits. Identify a few you’d like to work on improving first. Maybe you usually eat fruit for dessert, or drink low-fat or fat-free milk. These are good habits. Recognizing your successes will help encourage you to make more changes.
4. Create a list of “cues” by reviewing your food diary to become more aware of when and where you’re “triggered” to eat for reasons other than hunger. Note how you are feeling at those times Often an environmental “cue,” or a particular emotional state is what might encourage eating for non-hunger reasons.
5. Common triggers for eating when not hungry are:
- Opening up the cabinet and seeing your favorite food snack
- Sitting at home watching television
- Before or after a stressful meeting or situation at work
- Coming home for dinner and having no idea what’s for dinner
- Walking past a candy dish on a counter
- Sitting in the break room beside the vending machine
- Swinging through your favorite drive-through every morning
- Feeling bored or tired and thinking food might offer me a pick-me-up
6. Circle the “cues” on your list that you face on a daily or weekly basis. While a particular holiday may be a trigger to overeat, for now focus on cues you face more often. Eventually you want to have a plan for as many eating cues as you
can.
- Is there anything I can do to avoid the cue or situation? This option works best for cues that don’t involve others. For example, could you choose a different route to work to avoid stopping at a fast food restaurant on the way? Is there another place in the break room where you can sit so you’re not next to the vending machine?
- For things I can’t avoid, can I do something differently that would be healthier?
Replace
1. For example, in reflecting upon your eating habits, you may realize that you eat too fast when you eat alone. So, make a commitment to share a lunch each week with a colleague, or have a neighbor over for dinner one night a week. Another strategy is to put your fork down between bites. Also, minimize distractions, such as watching the news while you eat. Such distractions keep you from paying attention to how quickly and how quickly and how much you’re eating.
2. Eat more slowly. If you eat too quickly, you may “clean your plate” instead of paying attention to whether your hunger is satisfied.
3. Eat only when you’re truly hungry instead of when you are tired, anxious, or feeling an emotion besides hunger. If you find yourself eating when you are experiencing an emotion besides hunger, such as boredom or anxiety, try to find a non-eating activity to do instead. You may find a quick walk with a friend helps you feel better.
4. Plan meals ahead of time to ensure that you eat a healthy well-balanced meal.
Reinforce
Reinforce your new, healthy habits and be patient with yourself. Habits take time to develop. It doesn’t happen overnight.
When you do find yourself engaging in an unhealthy habit, stop as quickly as possible and ask yourself: Why do I do this? When did I start doing this? What changes do I need to make?
Be careful not to berate yourself or think that one mistake “blows” a whole day’s worth of healthy habits. It all starts with one day at a time.
An online resource which may be helpful is offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) titled “My Plate Plan” which shows your food group targets – what and how much to eat within your calorie allowance. Your food plan is based upon your age, sex, height, weight and physical activity level.
Mark Mahoney has been a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist for over 35 years and completed graduate studies in Public Health at Columbia University. He can be reached at [email protected]
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