The Slimming Pool Weight Loss Blog: Hey, I was Eating That!
Friday, January 24, 2003
You are Your Habits
We are all creatures of habit, going about our daily lives without giving it much thought. The same thing happens with our eating habits. Our favorite foods, snacks, times and places to eat. Mostly done out of habit. Have you ever polished off a bag of chips without even realizing your eating?
Most people vastly underestimate what they eat every day. In fact, it's not uncommon for a person to ingest from 3,500 to 4,000 calories or more every single day. Double on weekends! Small wonder we carry a few extra pounds.
Follow yourself around today and track what you eat and drink out of habit. If you're presently following a specific diet program, think back to what you used to eat. This is the first step in developing new habits that will support the body size and level of health you want to achieve.
It's that time of year. From a nip in the air to a massive snow and ice storm, there is a difference now. It's colder and the tendency is to put on a few pounds. We've generally accepted that it is nature's way of helping us provide a little extra winter fat -- just in case. But how long since you last had a food shortage? This year can be different.
Today consider making one small change. When you make a small change, it is easier to handle, you are more likely to incorporate it into your daily life, and you are more likely to succeed, than if you try to make a global change to your whole way of being.
Start by adding more fresh fruit to your diet. Just for today, throw out your rules -- if you follow any diet that forbids fruit -- because fruit is too important to miss. Fruit is sweet, satisfying and full of vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, and other things that your body requires for optimum health.
Choose a few fruits you particularly enjoy. I like apples, bananas, grapes, oranges ... Buy a small amount of some of the harder types, such as apples, and start carrying around an apple everywhere you go.
What? Have you lost your mind? Hear me out. The idea is when hunger strikes (or what you think is hunger), no matter where you are, you'll now have a snack handy. It's not that you couldn't wait out your hunger, but the tendency is to think about all the yummy foods you are trying so hard not to eat. Doing this sets you up for a massive binge once you do get to some food.
Instead, when you decide you are hungry, turn to your fruit for a quick, healthy snack. Give it a go and let me know what happens.
