By now I am sure you have implemented a few strategies or perhaps you have seen a few that ‘sparked’ a new interest in your diet. This listing is not exhaustive but it does give you a good start point. Starting a diet is never easy, and keeping on track can even be harder, as temptation is everywhere. If losing weight is important to you, or if you have an aesthetic goal and want to look a certain way you have to make some sacrifices. You will have to adjust your current behaviour or else you will end up getting the same result.
Here we go with our last few strategies:
- Never eat while prepping any meals. Never, never snack while prepping meals. This is a huge source of ‘hidden’ calories, that most do not realize that they do add up. Mindless eating will derail your goals. Eat only off a plate (next point). If you store your food in tupperware containers, transfer the food to a plate and then enjoy.
- Set a plate; not the table. Leave all the food on the stove, and/or put the food away. Don’t put bowls etc of food on the table for people to serve themselves. Plate your food and put the rest away. You will tempted to pick and eat more if there is extra on the table.
- Eat at the table; not in front of the TV. When you are watching TV you are no longer present with what you are doing, and do not fully experience your food. You are more likely to eat more, as you fail to recognize how much you are eating due to being engaged in another activity such as watching TV. Sure there are special occasions when having a family movie night includes some treats however, on a daily consistent basis these 2 activities should be kept separate.
- Buy single size/one serving portions. Sure it might be cheaper to buy the ‘super size’ but it will cost you in the long run. You are more likely to eat more from larger packaging, and are you really ‘saving’ if you throw it out?
- Eliminate snacking between meals. I am always wondering why kids today have muffin tops –> snacking <— I blame snacking. I remember as a kid, we would never have ‘snack time’. We went outside played, and came home when our bellies told us it was time. In between your meal times; no snacking. If someone offers you even a taste of something – say no. Such a small word. But it is a really powerful word when it comes to successful dieting. This includes the ‘taste test’ tables at Costco or any other grocery store. Avoid at all costs. Of course they want you to ‘sample’, as then you are more likely to buy.
- Pay attention to your internal cues: Are you really hungry? This is a big one. Most weight gain comes from mindless eating. Pay attention to how you are feeling, learn to recognize if you are eating because you are bored, restless, stressed, [insert other emotion here]. With so many images of eating surrounding us on a daily basis, and the access to food so vast, we need to remain conscious in our own lives to pay attention to the internal cues to eat. You do not have to eat because someone else told you it was time to eat.Let me know what strategies resonated with you, and how they have helped you get on track or stay on track with health or physique goals.A.
