Diet Tips
4 Diet Tips to Change Your Eating
Habits and Lose Those Stubborn Pounds
By Shaun T, creator of Hip Hop
Abs™
From the Million Dollar Body Club - Join Today and Workout to
Win!
 Oh sure, everyone always says to me, "Shaun, I swear,
I eat very healthfully. I have a clean diet." But when people are experiencing
"stubborn pounds" that won't budge off their bodies, I see uncertainty and fear
in their eyes when I say, "I bet it's a common eating habit that is undermining
your hard work."
Oh, yeah. It's human nature to
be less than honest with ourselves about where we're cheating on our
nutritional plan. We work out and have the best of intentions for our daily
menu, but end up falling short of our goals for balanced nutrition for a
variety of reasons. Some of the most common pitfalls can be avoided simply by
being aware of them:
 Stress eating - Hey, I readily admit
that food is comforting—especially comfort food. You know, the mac and
cheese, meatloaf and buttery mashed potatoes, an entire pint of butter pecan
ice cream . . . enough said. But there are so many better ways to beat stress
than eating yourself into a stupor.
Do this
instead: My favorite is to get out . . . literally take a walk.
Get into your body and forget the snacks, and get some air deep into your
lungs, clear your head, feel your blood pumping, and stretch your legs out. It
won't take but a few minutes for you to reap big benefits from a brisk walk . .
. away from the vending machine. Or if it's raining, put on some great music
and dancethat works too!
 Grazing - Many people have a complete
lack of structure to their daily meals—and actually never stop nibbling
all day long. From bits of bagels and a bite of donut in the morning all the
way through to chips in front of the TV for late-night channel surfing. Grazers
have absolutely no set meal times, and end up shutting down their body's
natural calorie-burning cycle through the constant onslaught of fat and
calories.
Do this instead:
Of course, avoid the bad stuff. Instead of vending-machine
junk and food with low nutritional value, pack healthy snacks for nibbling. And
make time for balanced meals that will satisfy your appetite so you won't be
reaching for whatever's near. See the action plan for #3.
 Unconscious eating - Eating without paying attention to what you're doing, or without
even realizing that you're consuming calories.
Do this instead:
Keeping a food journal is the best way I know to determine
whether you have unconscious eating tendencies. One of my clients confessed
that while keeping her journal, she would catch herself working at her desk and
suddenly realize that she needed to jot down in her journal the cookie she'd
just eaten at a coworker's desk. They'd offered her a homemade cookie and she'd
eaten it without even thinking about itmuch less factoring it into her daily
planned food intake. Cha-CHING! Those 200 sweet calories needed to be added to
her daily tally in her food journal to get an accurate picture of what she was
eating.
 Double portions - It's not just
restaurants that are offering us bigger portions to show us the value of their
meals; it's loved ones and friends and ourselves who proudly serve up much more
than our bodies need for fuel at meals—on a regular basis. It's because
we're showing love through the food and would feel stingy if the plate had less
on it. The sad fact is that "normal" portions in the U.S. aren't just a
fraction more food than needed for a balanced meal—it's like double, which
is WAY in excess of what your body requires, and WAY more than you can burn in
your daily workout!
Do this instead:
Ask yourself, do 20 bites of a huge sandwich really taste
that much better than 10? How do those 10 extra bites taste when you know you
can't burn them off that day and at least half that sandwich is going to turn
into those "stubborn" pounds? Stick with sane portions; listen to your
body.
Yes, these are four common
pitfalls, too common—but that doesn't make them any less devastating to
our fitness results and our ultimate health (and don't forget mental image). Be
aware of where you might be defeating yourself and take some time to form a
personal plan to help you avoid these pitfalls on a daily basis. |
