Home
>
Weight Loss
>
Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle changes necessary if we are going to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

For many people, changing eating habits is one of the hardest things they'll ever do, as anybody who has gone on a diet and tried to stick to it can attest.

If you've tried to change your eating habits before and have failed, or if you're about to embark on a weight loss plan of your own that involves a change towards healthier eating, the tips in this article are designed to improve your chances of success.

First things first

One of the reasons most people fail to stick to a diet is that they take the wrong first step.

There are broadly two ways to change your eating habits in order to help you lose weight:

1. Change what you eat

2. Change how much you eat

Ideally, in order to maximize weight loss over the LONG TERM we need to change both. But it's not a good idea to change both at once.

This is where most people make mistakes. They try to change both at once or if they only change one, they change the wrong one first.

When faced with the above two options, most people take option 1 first when the best first option to take to help you lose weight is typically option 2.

Why? The reason is actually quite simple.

It is far easier for most of us to go from eating 3 to 2 pieces of fried chicken for dinner than it is to go from 3 pieces of fried chicken to a garden salad.

Sure, eating the salad will help us lose more weight than forgoing only one piece of fried chicken, but permanent weight loss is a long term process and going down to 2 pieces of chicken forever is far better than eating a garden salad for dinner for 1 week and then going back to 3 pieces of chicken for the rest of our life.

Remember, we are trying to make permanent lifestyle changes here and most of us won't stick to these changes if they are too radical compared to what we are currently doing.

Food reduction tips

Here are some tips to help you reduce the amount you eat:

? Making small permanent changes are better than radical changes that you won't be able to live with.

? Don't worry about falling back to your old behaviour for a day or two, only the long term counts.

? Use portion controlled packaged foods to help you (prepackaged frozen meals and single serve snack packs for example).

? Use smaller plates than usual to serve your meals.

? When eating out, buy entr?e sized meals or share a full sized meal with your partner or friend.

? Separate a third or quarter of the food on your plate and move it to one side before you begin eating, then leave that third or quarter uneaten at the end of the meal.

? Eat small amounts of food every couple of hours so you're not starving at main meal times.

? Drink plenty of water throughout the day ? most people mistake thirst for hunger.

? Eat slowly and concentrate on your meal ? don't watch TV while you're eating for example.

? Gradually reduce your serving sizes over time until they reach the ideal size.

? When eating take away, don't buy super-sized options.

? Remember that to make these changes habit you are going to have to continue to practice them consciously for awhile (maybe up to 3 months) until they become unconscious.

? Be the last one at the table to start eating.

? Put your fork or food down between bites.

? Chew or swallow each bite before the next.

? Pause in the middle of the meal.

? Don't eat while cooking ? this increases your total serving size, often without being noticed.

? Place leftover food in small, single serve containers.

? Have soup or a salad with low calorie dressing to begin a meal.

? As soon as you begin to feel full, stop eating.

? Try to reduce stress in your life and other things that cause you to eat on emotion.

The second step

OK, you've gradually started to reduce the amount of food you eat and are starting to slowly (but surely) lose weight.

If you haven't already, now is the time to start to become more active to improve your general level of fitness, increase your energy levels and of course speed up the weight loss process.

Now that these habits are well established, it's time to start thinking about making minor positive adjustments to what we eat. Instead of eating a piece of fried chicken for dinner for example (we've migrated from 3 down to 2 and now down to 1) maybe we can have a piece of fried chicken without the skin or a piece of grilled or broiled chicken instead.

And maybe we can replace half of the chips that accompany our chicken with a corn cob or a handful of your favourite steamed vegetables. See how we're making small positive changes that we can live with?

While changing what we eat is often more difficult that slowly but gradually reducing how much we eat, there are things that we can do to make sure that when we do begin to change this aspect of our behaviour that we are successful.

Healthy diet modification tips

Here are a couple of things to consider when improving our diet:

? A healthy diet is a balanced diet and a balanced diet has plenty of variety - occasional fast food meals are OK; just don't make them the staple.

? Plan ahead ? don't be forced into choosing inferior food options because you failed to think ahead.

? Start by modifying your breakfast. Breakfast is so important that it is the logical place to begin when trying to improve your diet. Whole-grain, high-fiber cereals with low-fat milk are an excellent choice.

? Understand and read the Nutrition Facts labels on packaged food.

? Compare the nutritional facts of like products and if possible, opt for the choice with the lowest calories, sugar, salt and/or fat.

? Be adventurous; try new dishes whenever you can.

? Remember that the cooking method you use can increase or reduce the calories contained in food.

? Buy a new cookbook or food magazine for food and healthier choice ideas.

? Exchange healthy recipes with friends.

? Try new restaurants.

? Alternate alcohol with low calorie drinks (water is perfect).

? Join a healthy cooking class.

? Start a healthy cooking dinner club.

? Invite friends over for a vegetarian (or other theme) meal.

? Make meals delicious as well as nutritious.

? Remove temptations from your home.

? Become physically, not externally connected to eating.

? Shop using a shopping list and never shop when hungry.

? Be wary at cultural and social events ? don't let your guard down.

? Feel proud every time you say "no" to a problem food.

? Neutralize food. There are no good or bad foods - all foods are OK when eaten in moderation.

? Stop Dieting.

General Guidelines for behaviour modification

In addition to the tips above, try some of these general guidelines to behaviour modification:

? Be ready to change.

? Develop a plan.

? Set goals, track your progress, and reward yourself to stay motivated.

? Make change fun.

? Slow down your busy lifestyle.

? Understand your personal barriers to change so you can avoid excuses.

? Don't look for quick fixes and easy options.

? Keep a positive attitude.

? Watch your language, especially when talking to yourself.

? Change your reward system so that it is not based on food and rewards behaviour modifications, not weight loss results.

? Enlist the help of qualified professionals (e.g. a registered dietitian, a physician, a personal trainer and/or a psychologist).

Good luck and remember you can do whatever you set your mind to!

For all your weight loss and healthy lifestyle needs, visit www.weightloss.com.au and become a happier, healthier you.

Scott Haywood

Twin Lakes rental limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Home inventory and restoration apps help itemize and track every item in your home in the event you have to make an insurance claim after a natural disaster.

The White House launched a new cybersecurity safety label, the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, intended to help consumers make informed decisions on smart device safety.

Today's tech can help make life so much easier — if you know how to use it. Here are a few tips on the quickest and best ways to make your phone, laptop and other devices work for you.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers Windows 11 restart fixes: Update drivers, run system scans and check hardware.

Sony and Honda's Afeela 1 EV launches with advanced tech and entertainment for $89,900. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives his takeaways.

With limited hard drive space, tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers these tips for storing large video files and photos.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the $236,000 Yangwang U9 electric hypercar boasts 1,287 horsepower and can jump obstacles.

Flip phones are harder to block spam calls from, but it's not impossible. Kurt the "CyberGuy" explains how to stop incoming robocalls on your flip phone.

With so many notifications buzzing our phones these days, it's tough to distinguish between legitimate messages and possible scams. Kurt the CyberGuy helps unravel the mystery.

Scammers have a new trick where they pretend to be job recruiters to plant malicious apps on your devices. It all starts with a deceptive email.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Kurt the CyberGuy breaks down why those emails that warn that "Your Apple ID has been disabled" is most likely a scam. Here's how to protect yourself.

Even small mistakes can negatively impact your credit score; here are some of the most common credit report errors and how you can fix them.

Tech guru Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explores the many different ways you can repurpose that old iPhone of yours rather than trashing it.

A pioneering artificial intelligence and robotics company from China has developed a repository of over 1 million robotic movements to provide robotic training.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals the warning signs and steps to take if you suspect that your personal computer is infected with a virus.

Researchers found in a study that users of a robotic prosthetic hand could successfully grasp and move two objects at once without dropping them.

The James Webb Space Telescope captured photos of one of the earliest supernovas ever seen using infrared technology, and creating a time lapse of the phenomena.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

New Mac malware variant targets browser credentials and personal data, researchers find. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to safeguard your Mac from the latest malware threats.

The Jetson One eVTOL showcases air racing potential, ushering in a new aviation era. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the race for eVTOL supremacy is just beginning.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals that hackers stole data from Gravy Analytics, a major seller of smartphone location data to the U.S.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: If you just bought a new iPhone, here’s what to do first when you fire it up.

AC Future and Pininfarina unveil AI Transformer homes, merging sustainability and innovation. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says this could change the way we think about home.

Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Weight Loss