Strategies for Healthier Eating and Weight Loss

I am 5'5", 140 lbs. When I was 135 lbs, I made a goal to lose 10 lbs by Christmas. Since then, obviously, I've gained 50% of what I wanted to lose.

I used to be really good at dieting and excersizing, and I used to be really motivated. Now I find myself cheating through excersizes, and eating whatever I want when I'm not hungry. It's a habit that I've developed and sometimes I don't even realize it when I'm doing it.



Let's all use this forum to list ways to develop and keep new habits, techniques, and strategies for healthier eating habits and excersizing routines.

Here are some obvious and common ways, that I sometimes need to be reminded of, to stop my over eating:

-Eat slow
-Stop when you're full
-When you think you're hungry, wait 15 minutes, and if you're still hungry, allow yourself to eat a healthy snack
-When you're hungry drink some water
-Eliminate soda from your diet
-Chew slowly
-When you want more food off of your plate, but you've already eaten a healthy amount, pour water over your food
-Write down everything you eat after you eat it, this way you're more conscious of what you're putting in your body

Those are good suggestions, Molly. I'll add these:

--When eating out, split an entree with your companion or simply push half of the portion to one side of your plate and only eat half of the enormous restaurant portion.

--Don't deprive yourself, but make your splurge count. I love ice cream. I don't keep it in the house because I don't practice portion control. Maybe once a week in the summer we walk up with the kids to an ice cream place and I make sure to enjoy every bite that I eat. I'd rather do this than mindlessly overeat on the couch in front of the TV with no gratification!

When you're eating, pay attention to the food. Not that you should ignore your dinner companions, but don't mindlessly munch while doing anything else.

Hi molly,

I feel the same way you do, sometimes I feel so hopeless like the saying "your eyes or bigger than your belly" well that's me and I was never this way before...well I was but I was one of those who can eat whatever and still stay slim and those days have since passed me and I can no longer do that.  Not only that but it seems that my cravings for certain foods or greater than my actual hunger and I find myself eating things just because I was craving them and not because I was hungry.  Sorry I don't have any suggestions just anxious to see what people say to help.

Ejoy :)

What I do when I see "sin foods" a.k.a. pizza, cake, ice cream, etc:

1. I look at the sin foods and THINK OF IT as FATS and not FOOD! For example, i ask myself: Do I really want to put those FATS inside my body? What would I get out of it? Is it worth it? NO! I don't wanna ruin everything I've worked for in the past 7 weeks! I am not hungry and i DONT WANT that FATS!

try it! it works! ;p

ken

That's a good tip about pouring the water on your plate...I tend to pick at my food a lot when I'm in a group setting...I wonder how they would react to seeing me pour water on my food!! hehe

^^ haha! they'd be like "damn, next time just give me the food you can't finish!!!"

haha

Hi Molly -
The one thing that I find helps me the most is to plan what I'm going to eat for the day, usually the night before.  Just a rough draft leaving room to be flexible.  That way if my expected calorie intake is on the low side I know I can add in an extra snack or a larger portion of something I love if I really want it. 

Meg's suggestion is gold.  I NEVER have anything in the house that I know is a binge food for me.  Typically the thought of having to go out to get whatever it is is enough to stop the craving.

eat with chopsticks (if it is a food that can be eaten with them) even if you are pretty proficient it is still generally more difficult to get as much food in a pair of chopsticks as on a fork. I also find them more practical if eating away from home, eg in a park,  because they clean off alot easier with bit of a lick then a fork does.

always eat desserts with a teaspoon.

and perhaps the most difficult (at least for me) realise that it is okay to throw out food. Since i've been watching my diet i've felt bad for throwing out food, so i have to tell myself that if i am eating more than i need then i am still wasting it.

mctami, I sent you an email...I don't know if you ever check it, so just letting you know.

At restaurants, I get a "to go" container right away and put half of everything in to it, bag it, and put it under my chair. If possible, I move the half I'm eating on to my bread plate, so it looks like a TON of food. I drink LOTS of water at restaurants, too, and herbal tea. If I want dessert, I order super lean entrees that have a bunch of veggies and no cheese or bread. It's especially great if everyone else at the table favors a healthy lifestyle! (That's the tough one, isn't it?)

Thanks jane3001 for the suggestions!

I, too, feel guilty throwing out food. But maybe we don't have to. If you really can't finish your meal, just store it in the fridge and eat it later or save it for someone else. :D

Thanks jane3001 for the suggestions!

I, too, feel guilty throwing out food. But maybe we don't have to. If you really can't finish your meal, just store it in the fridge and eat it later or save it for someone else. :D