Eating Pitfalls To Avoid
Are you sabotaging your own goal?
“Oh sure, everyone always says to me, “Shaun, I swear, I eat very healthily. 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.”
– Shaun T: creator of Insanity, FocusT25, and The Asylum
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It is way too easy to cheat on your own nutritional plan and not even be aware of it. Then comes frustration because you can’t figure out why those pesky pounds won’t leave despite all of your exercising. One of the best ways to fight this is to simply be aware of the cheat methods!
Here are some common ones:
1. Habit eating: This is when you have an activity that always has food attached. Our bodies love routine and if we have a thing we do everyday that has a specific food attached to it then it is easy to look over.
Become Aware: A great way to become aware of whether or not you do this is to keep a food journal for a week. Track what you eat and see if you notice a pattern. A great app for this is MyFitnessPal.
2. Stress Eating: Need I say more? Food is comforting, I won’t argue that… BUT! There are much better ways to fight stress that last longer and don’t involve eating yourself silly.
Become Aware: My personal favorite is to go for a walk. Go out, breath deep, clear your head, stretch your legs and get your blood flowing. If it’s raining find a good “me-spot” in the house and have a stretch session. When movement won’t do it and my brain is set for chocolate… that’s when I go for the Chocolate Shakeology.
3. Nibbling: The all day grazing that is never noticed. A bite here, a cookie there, someone brought donuts to work, channel surfing munching, and hey you brought me a candy how nice.
Become Aware: See action step from #1. Also, having a structured eating plan is a great way to avoid the nibbles. I have found when I schedule my eating I don’t bother with nibbling because I know when my next meal is coming.
4. Over-Portioned: Restaurants do it so we get our $’s worth, family does it out of love, and we even do it to ourselves for whatever reason (for me it used to be not having to pack leftovers). We give ourselves way too much fuel that our body can’t burn off unless we were an olympian.
Become Aware: An easy go-to for portion size is the palm of your hand and fist. Click HERE for an easy guide.
Take a closer look and see if your eating is getting in your way. Then become aware of how to take action!