Common Diet-Sabotaging Habits and How To Fix Them

We all have good and bad habits – and we also throw that word around a lot. Technically, a habit is when a certain cue automatically triggers an action. For instance, the afternoon slump at work might trigger a daily junk food snack, even if you aren’t hungry. Your brain learns habits over time through repetition, and eventually you don’t even think about them.

Once formed, habits can be very difficult to break, even when you know they are harming your health. Habits are a big reason people continue to overeat, be physically inactive, drink too much alcohol and smoke.

Understanding how your habits influence your eating can help identify roadblocks in your diet. You can even learn strategies to replace bad habits in your diet with good ones.

Common Diet-Sabotaging Habits and How To Fix Them

Chances are there are choices you make that you’re not even aware of. To get a handle on your eating habits, get Lose It! and start by logging your foods and exercise for a few days. This is the quickest way to identify some of the habits that may be hindering your weight loss. Study your log and pinpoint where you may be packing on the calories, or why you didn’t exercise on a given day when you meant to.

Check out these examples of the most common diet-sabotaging habits, and ideas for new, healthier habits to replace them:

• Sabotaging Habit 1: Fast food. Fast food tends to be highly processed, high in calories and low in nutrients. Fast food chains prey on hungry, busy people. The glow of a fast food restaurant’s sign may beckon you after a long day, and you order a tasty, inexpensive meal that is ready in minutes. After a few times, a habit starts to form. Pretty soon, every time you drive by on an empty stomach and see the sign, you find yourself mindlessly turning into the drive-through lane.
  Instead: Plan ahead. Identify the times you are likely to hit a fast food restaurant and make a different plan. On your busiest weekday, consider starting your dinner in a slow cooker in the morning, or chopping and prepping your meal before you leave for the day when you aren’t feeling tired and hungry.
• Sabotaging Habit 2: Distracted eating. Eating in front of the TV or computer are common forms of distracted eating. Studies show that distracted eating is associated with consuming more calories, both during the meal and later in the day.
  Instead: Practice mindful eating. Mindful eating is when you pay attention to everything about the food you are eating: its taste, texture, color, smell and how it makes you feel full. Try eating just one meal a week mindfully. Sit at a table in a quiet, peaceful environment and notice how you feel as you eat. This simple exercise can help you appreciate your foods in all environments, plus help you recognize fullness and stop eating when you’re satisfied. 
• Sabotaging Habit 3: Grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Most people are familiar with the drawbacks of grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Your grocery cart quickly fills with processed foods, and you get home without the ingredients for even one healthy dinner.
  Instead: Make a list. Pick a time each week to plan your weekly menu and make a grocery list. Plan a menu of healthy recipes and quick meals, and write all the ingredients on your list, organized into sections of the store. This way, when you get to the store, hungry or not, you can quickly and effortlessly gather the foods you need for the week.
• Sabotaging Habit 4: Piling on huge portions. Most of us eat off the same size plate every day, and you may tend to pile it full of food and finish it out of sheer habit.
  Instead: Use smaller plates. Hands down, the easiest way to reduce your calories is to reducing your portion sizes. Do this by using a smaller dinner plate or filling your usual plate half-full. If you’re still hungry after you’ve finished you can go back for more, but you will be less likely to “clean” your plate out of pure habit.
• Sabotaging Habit 5: Mindless snacking. Reaching for high-calorie snacks during the afternoon slump or late at night is a common habit. Boredom, feeling emotional or tired, or hitting a lull in the day can trigger you to eat even if you aren’t hungry.
  Instead: Exercise. Once you have identified when you mindlessly snack, decide on a quick exercise to do instead. Maybe you take a walk with a co-worker, stretch, do a few pushups, walk your dog around the block, or do a quick online exercise or yoga routine.

If you are reading this, you’re probably already motivated to make some worthwhile changes. Motivation is key to replacing bad diet habits with good ones. Start small by picking one or two habits to break and/or form at a time, and commit to practicing those two habits every day.  Lastly, be forgiving and give yourself time. It takes at least a few weeks to establish a new habit, so go easy on yourself. If you commit to it, the changes will come.