How to Change Eating Habits to Lose Weight Permanently
/When you’re trying to figure out how to lose weight and make a healthy lifestyle change you typically start a new trendy diet that claims to be the “best diet for weight loss” and a workout plan, but overlook the eating habits that are the real reason you “fall off track”. Eating habits are the real reason you start, but can’t stick to a weight loss plan.
Why you can’t stop mindless and emotional eating
Eating habits are really hard to break because you’ve been developing them for years maybe even since you were a kid.
Think about this, without even realizing it, you’ve developed other habits you mindlessly do every day
Putting your seatbelt on when you get in the car
Brushing your teeth in the morning
Driving to work without GPS
This type of habit building is exactly why you pull into McDonald's after a long day
If you think about it you might notice a pattern of when, where and why you snack.
When you walk in the door from work you head straight for the fridge
When you have a 10-minute break you grab a snack
When there’s a TV commercial you grab a snack
You’ve created these habits you mindlessly do even if you’re not hungry. Similarly, you might mindlessly turn to food as a coping mechanism for emotions.
Every time you're sad you decide it’s a Ben & Jerry’s and Netflix kind of night
Every time you're pissed off you make an emotional decision to have a “cheat meal”
You’ve created a connection in your brain that triggers cravings for sweets when you are upset, but the truth is that’s a fake fix.
Bingeing on a pint of ice cream doesn’t fix your internal sadness, in fact, it likely makes it even worse because then you feel guilty about eating the ice cream which sends you into a full weekend binge and that’s how the cycle begins and repeats every single time you try to lose wieght.
Eating habits like mindless snacking and emotional eating are habits that you’ve hardwired into your brain that cause triggers and you making eating decisions based on routine or emotional responses. (*)
How to break these mindless eating habits
The first step in breaking these habits is recognizing what mindless snacking and emotional habits you’ve developed, and start being intentional about creating new habits.
Change your routine.
Walk in the door from work and make your new habit taking the dog for a walk.
Go for quick walks during your breaks instead of grabbing a snack
When you get upset, before reaching for the ice cream go for a walk, journal, distract yourself, process your thoughts before making a decision
If you're driving home from a stressful day at work and considering driving through the drive-thru call someone instead to distract yourself and talk about your feelings out loud
You didn’t develop these habits overnight and you won’t change them overnight just by committing to a new diet and workout routine. If you want to break eating habits and instill new healthier habits you have to be consistent and very intentional about it.
A few more tricks to breaking mindless snacking habits
Plan 3 big meals a day, limit the snacks
If you plan to have dessert save it for the end of the day
If you have snacks around portion them out for the week and put the rest in a less accessible cabinet
Shorten your eating window. If dinner is over at 7 PM don’t eat again until 7 AM
Brush your teeth as soon as dinner is over so you’re less likely to a late-night snack
Drink decaf coffee or tea instead of late-night snacking
Stay hydrated, you can’t tell the difference between hunger cravings and just being thirsty.
3 Mindset and Nutrition Shifts you must make if you want to break eating habits
Not only are these eating habits now mindlessly part of your routine but your mentality around dieting and the types of foods you are currently eating are also contributing to keeping you hooked into the weight loss battle and making it difficult to break old eating habits so that you can lose weight and keep it off.
1. THE “IM ON A DIET” MENTALITY
When you are restricting foods or calories you crave what you “can’t have” even more and you’re more likely to give in and turn one cookie into an uncontrollable weekend food bender
You’ll do good on your “diet for a few weeks then hunger comes in sudden intense bursts and you just can’t stop thinking about how badly you want to eat that donut in the break room.
KEYS TO AVOIDING THE “IM ON A DIET” MENTALITY
You need to regularly feed yourself. You want your body to realize that you are feeding it so it doesn’t trigger hunger hormones. (*)
avoid continually grazing throughout the day. Instead, try to get in a routine that works for you, try to eat your meals and snacks at the same time every day. (*)
If you enjoy a piece of cake there is no need to punish yourself by not eating for the rest of the day or only eating salads for the rest of the week. Enjoy the cake and get back to regular programming.
2. FOCUSING TO MUCH ON THE NUMBERS AND NOT ENOUGH ON THE QUALITY
When you go on a diet you often start basing your meals on how many calories or how many net carbs your eating but neglecting the quality of the food which leaves your body malnourished.
When your body doesn’t get the right nutrition it just keeps asking for more food = endless cycle of cravings (*)
KEYS TO AVOIDING THE QUANTITY TRAP
Stop stressing over tracking your calories and macros and focus on eating Whole Foods and less packaged processed foods. Don’t get lazy!
Change it up and add more variety to your meals- explore the perimeter of your grocery store. Try different fruits and veggies. If you always eat chicken, try a salmon dish… this ensures you are giving your body all the nutrients it needs to survive and thrive.
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
• Download my free Whole food Shopping list and a list of ingredients to avoid when looking at the ingredients list of packaged foods before you buy them.
• Check out this Complete List of Foods You Do and Don't Need to Buy Organic on a Budget
3. CONSTANT BLOOD SUGAR ROLLER COASTER
When you consume sugar and refined carbs it quickly spikes your blood sugar and then shortly after it quickly drops. That drastic fluctuation in blood sugar causes constant hunger cravings.(*) (*)
Once you pop the fun don’t stop…have you ever noticed that if you don’t have sugary foods you don’t crave them but once you eat one cookie you can’t stop….this is why.
KEYS TO AVOIDING THE BLOOD SUGAR ROLLER COASTER
You have to fuel your body with the right macronutrients - are you focusing on building a balanced plate of food with carbs, healthy fats, and enough protein?
Go for snacks that are high in protein and healthy fats to keep you feeling full longer and prevent that sugar rush and crash.
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
• Download my free 7 Day Weight loss plan, which includes a 7 Day meal plan and workout plan
• Learn the Health Benefits & How to Start the Keto Diet for Women
Final thoughts on breaking your eating habits
If you want to lose weight and make a healthy lifestyle change for real this time ditch the trendy “best diet for weight loss” and focus on developing healthier eating habits and focusing on a quality sugar-free nutrient dense meal plan.
Remember, eating habits like mindless snacking and emotional eating are habits, so if you want to break them you have to be consistent and very intentional about it. If you follow these steps you will change your eating habits and lose weight permanently!
Eating habits are just one of the things I help my clients breakthrough in my 90-day program, Permanent Lifestyle Reset. If you want to break through weight loss resistance and make a permanent lifestyle change in the next 90 days head here to get more details on everything included inside the program!
PLR has transformed the lives of women who, like you, have tried all the fad diets, will lose a few pounds, but just as quickly end up right back where they started. Before joining Permanent Lifestyle Reset, they are frustrated and just wish they knew what to do to breakthrough weight loss resistance for good with out having to trial and error any longer and you should see them now! Go check out their “after” photos.
