You can’t lose weight and keep it off — what’s getting in the way?
Is it your family’s eating habits? Your late night passion for ice-cream? All those delicious treats in your pantry? Eating on the run? The ordinary chaos of life? Something — or someone — must be to blame.
So many people believe the key to sustainable weight loss is in healthy eating and regular physical activity. While those things obviously matter, people who succeed over time have always done one other thing: identified what repeatedly sabotages their best efforts.
Once you know your vulnerabilities you can put behavioural strategies in place to counter them.
Some people have historical wounds around food and body image that keep tripping them up. But the chief saboteurs often lie in the unhealthy practices we adopt, and turn into habits, in our daily lives.
In years of psychological work with people on eating and weight issues, I’ve seen the same difficulties arise over and over. So here are the Big 5 to watch out for, in no particular order — along with a strategy or two for countering them.
5 Food Habits Most Likely to Sabotage Weight Loss
1. Mindless Eating
I know I said no particular order, but this would challenge hard for number one. So many of us eat automatically, without thought for what (and how much) we’re putting into our bodies. It’s usually more, and worse, than we think! We can justifiably blame the combination of chaotic lifestyles which disrupt routines and easy access to fast/processed foods — but that doesn’t help our weight. Pay attention to automatic purchases, like that chocolate bar by the supermarket checkout. And take special note if you find yourself eating things you don’t even like — the leftovers from your kids’ dinners, odd bits and pieces as you pass the fridge or pantry.
What to do: Slow down — your life, your eating, everything! Hit pause before you eat. Eating mindfully (paying attention to what you eat) isn’t that hard as long as you give yourself time to think. Resolve to quit eating anything you don’t like. Put food on a plate. And never eat standing up.
2. Portion Control
Portion size is the most obvious difficulty and the easiest to address. We mostly eat too much for our lifestyles or we eat according to the needs of the people around us — partners, families, friends, housemates. In other words, we eat what and when other people eat without paying due attention to our own body’s requirements.
What to do: Take an honest inventory of how much you are eating — use an app or tracking device to help. Picture all the food you’ve eaten in 24-hour period laid out on a table. Is this right for your size? Activity levels? Compare your main meal of the day with that of your partner/housemates/kids — have you considered your own needs? Made any necessary adjustments? Start by continuing to eat what you like/want but cut it in half. Half a bowl of fries is better for your body than a whole bowl — and more fun than none. Measure out your quantities and use a smaller plate if you need to.
3. Food Associations
This is a sneaky culprit and much more common than you think. We frequently associate food with various activities — which become habitual even when we’re not hungry. e.g. Evening TV watching AND chocolate. Movies AND popcorn. Family get-togethers AND second helpings. Coffee AND cake. Watching sport AND pizza. A hard day at work AND wine (AND cheese). Sometimes certain people trigger food associations too: watch for them. Bobbie AND beer. Gabby AND chocolate slice.
What to do: It’s possible to do one without the other but first you have to recognise the link. It can be hard to break at first especially when these are pleasurable links so try replacing the food with something else. Or adjust the times you do these things or the places you see these people.
4. Eating with Feelings
Emotional eating is allowing your food intake to be governed by how you feel about whatever is going on around you: stress, comfort, pleasure, boredom, sadness, overwhelm, loneliness, rebelliousness, triggers to old emotional wounds.
What to do: Don’t just tell yourself DON’T EAT when you experience these feelings — it won’t work. Instead, use this three-step EAT strategy when you feel the urge.
E Emotion. When you feel the urge to eat, stop and identify the emotion you are feeling. Name it. This will help you be aware of your emotional driver for eating.
A Ask. There are always a few seconds between feeling an emotion and eating. Use that time to ask yourself: Do I really feel like this? Will I fully enjoy it? Will eating this make me feel good afterwards? (Or will I beat myself up?)
T Task. Take action. Instead of eating do an activity you have pre-planned to distract yourself. Keep it simple. Engage yourself in the task and the moment will pass.
5. Covert Eating
Covert (secret) eating is a huge problem for people who are overweight. Take note if you find yourself hiding food or wrappers, or looking for an excuse to be alone to eat. Eating in cars is common. Be honest with yourself if you feel guilt or shame about what you are doing.
What to do: Resolve to eat everything in front of other people because it will give you a natural boundary around your food intake. If this is not possible, ask yourself each time: would I eat this if someone else was present? And if not, apply the brakes.