"Oh, the stuff that I could eat!" — Dr. Seuss
Google "how to eat healthy" and you'll find a plethora of articles encouraging you to reduce sugar, alcohol and saturated fat intake while increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, fiber rich carbohydrates and lean proteins.
At this point, the "WHAT" of healthy eating is pretty obvious to most people.
But, that doesn't always make the "HOW" any easier.
Because having knowledge about something doesn't necessarily mean that we implement what we know on a consistent basis.
Hence the old "I know WHAT to do, I'm just not doing it."
So today, I'm sharing 3 simple ways that you can improve your eating habits by focusing on HOW you eat, rather than on WHAT you eat.
And because you won't have to order a bunch of supplements, do a 3-hour food prep or spend the afternoon clearing out you cabinets of "junk", you'll be able to start implementing these strategies TODAY.
#1) Eat slowly
There are many benefits to eating slowly including: better digestion, easier weight loss/maintenance and greater satisfaction with your meals.
Implementation strategy: Choose 1 meal per day to focus on (one where you often eat in a rush). The next time you sit down to eat this meal, time how long it takes for you to finish. This is your starting point. Aim to increase the length of your meal by 1 minute each day until you reach the 20 minute mark (or as much time as you can realistically allot for that meal right now).
#2) Eat without devices
Studies have shown that those who eat while using devices like their cell phone or computer are more likely to overeat (roughly 10% more) at mealtime and even more (25% or greater) at a later meal.
Implementation strategy: Choose 1 meal per day to focus on (one where you often eat while being in front of a device). The next time you sit down to eat this meal, set a timer for 5 minutes. Eat without devices or other distractions (driving, reading, etc) for this 5 minute interval. This is your starting point. Aim to increase the length of your "device free period" by 1 minute each day until you can get through an entire meal without checking your device(s) (or as much time as you can realistically allot for that meal right now).
#3) Put it on a plate
Eating directly from a box, bag or carton makes it nearly impossible to be mindful of portion sizes or to keep track of how much you are eating in a day. Also, this behavior is often a form of procrastination (aka "procrasin-eating") rather than eating because of actual physical hunger.
Implementation strategy: Choose 1 day per week to focus on this strategy (one where you tend to snack frequently). EVERY TIME you feel like eating, put a portion of the desired food on a plate and sit at your dining table to eat it (if you are doing this at work, sit in whatever area is designated for eating). This is your starting point. Aim to increase the number of days per week that you implement this strategy until you are sitting down to a plate of food for the majority of your eating opportunities. To further enhance this strategy, combine it with strategies #1 and #2.
If you really want to build healthy eating habits that last, then you need to not only focus on WHAT you eat, but also HOW, WHEN, and WHY you eat.
These 3 strategies will help you eat healthier by focusing on HOW you are eating and by practicing them consistently you will: increase your awareness around hunger and fullness, experience more satisfaction from you meals and reduce your average calorie intake, all of which can contribute to weight loss and/or effortless weight management.
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