The Psychology of Weight Loss: Part 5 – Perspectives toward food!

Any dietary plan on the market has some portion of it that works, but the basic principle of any good eating program, no matter how sugarcoated, centers around calories IN— calories OUT.

The eating “only one type of food diets” will not be effective, and such a restricted diet defeats you mentally.  Most diets are just too unrealistic for a person’s lifestyle. Plus they don’t supply enough basic nutritional needs for people to stay with them. Balance is the key! Attitude is the key to keeping balance!! Here are what I call the 5 P’s of eating and the attitude one must take to keep food in check!

Perspectives toward food

Ask yourself, “Why do I eat?” Most will say, “I eat because I have to.” Well, think about it. Do you?  If you eat just because you have to, then your choices will be more for taste. 

If you ate with the attitude that food was fuel, then how would you eat? You may be more likely to make a quality choice. Your attitude toward food is very important!

Pattern of eating

Do you drive the same way to work every day? Do you go to the same grocery store? Do you hang out with the same people most of the time? The same thing is true with your food. 

Chances are you eat at the same time, gobble up the same food types and in most cases, you take in roughly the same amount of food on a weekly basis?  Your body gets used to eating the same types and same amounts. As in exercise, it is really important to incorporate a variety of foods in our daily eating to keep it off guard, so to speak. 

Pushing your buttons 

Why do you think advertisements are so powerful? They spark something inside of you and immediately you find yourself on autopilot going to the refrigerator or the next fast food joint to get something you don’t need. Recognize this so you can make better choices. 

Portion Control 

Being aware of how much you eat at one time is very important. Take spaghetti
for example—fifteen years ago the doctors came out and endorsed pasta as a healthy food. While this is true, physicians didn’t explain portion control. Even though pasta may be a good food type, an extra hundred or two calories a few times a week adds up. Learn to push the plate away.

Pre-Planning 

This may sound like common sense, but with our busy lifestyles, pre-planning meals in advance is far from simple. However, pre-planning is essential.  

For most of us all we can do to just keep up with the day’s activities, much less cook in advance. It really boils down to time management. If you have good choices in the refrigerator, you will be more likely to eat that food. When healthy foods are unavailable, you will go out of your way to the pantry, pizza parlor, or fast food restaurant for immediate gratification.

 In a nut shell:  

Eating right has a lot to do with how you look at food, how much you eat and what you eat. Recognize if you have eating patterns. The patterns may be lifestyle, emotional, physically related or all the above. Pre-planning meals and shopping ahead solves a lot of the poor decision making. Learn to push yourself away from the table. YOU WILL EAT TOMORROW! 

From the suggestion box: 

If you have excessive eating habits, they may be emotionally related. Figure out your bad habits and counteract them. 

Pre-plan the week, if possible. You’ll make better choices if you have better choices from which to choose. 

Food journal twice a month with times, types and amounts of food eaten. 

Snacking throughout the day helps overeating. 

Eat until comfortable – you will eat tomorrow. 

Eat with your opposite hand. 

Sit while you are eating.