Personal tips & tricks to stay on track with food
Let’s face it. The environment we live in makes it as close to impossible as possible to maintain a healthy and clean diet. We live in an environment filled with cheap and accessible food that’s available in abundance. So, unless you live on a homestead somewhere, you are going to be tempted at every turn of your life.
Super market. Work. Home. Parties. Friend’s houses. Everywhere you go will be the opportunity to make poor food choices. And while I don’t want to say it’s not our fault… it’s kind of not our fault.
Unfortunately to combat it, we need to always be on the offensive. We need to always be battling back the urge to eat to excess. To eat food we know is not good for us. We need to also be taking initiative to eat more of the stuff we know is good for us.
I struggle with this battle just like everyone else. Turning down more food is a daily struggle. To deal with this, I’ve unknowingly developed little habits, trick, routines, and tales I tell myself, to help me win the battle.
Since they really are things that happen almost at a subconscious level, meaning I don’t actually maintain a list of these, I’m going to begin recording them as they come to me and put them down onto this list. So, this will act as a living document to continuously be updated.
Let your favorite food, snack, or beverage run out before replenishing it. Watch what happens. Once it’s out of your house, you won’t miss it. Give it a day or two, or more, before replenishing.
If you listen to your body, it will tell you what you need. But be careful, because it can be difficult to discern between need and want. All day you tell yourself you need a nice healthy dinner. But on the way home you pass by your favorite takeout restaurant and now you need Chinese food, Taco Bell, a pub burger. The second one is actually want. Ignore it. This actually applies to anything you might be addicted to. Tobacco. Alcohol. Sugar. Caffeine. It does for me.
Don’t say you don’t care when you do. This one applies a lot to eating before bed. Most nights I want to grab a little bite, a little snack before bed. I know I shouldn’t and I don’t need it, and that more often than not it negatively impacts my sleep, but I tell myself “I don’t care.” Saying “I don’t care” is a trigger for me that lets me know, I do care. I’m just trying to convince myself it’s ok, when it’s not what I need. Don’t have it. It can also apply during the day. Like after a big breakfast or lunch and I want to reach for that extra bite, or something sweet. I do care. And I’ll care later when I feel it’s effects. Don’t do it.
Space out eating. I often think about what I’m going to eat before I even finish the meal in front of me. Maybe I’ll have a piece of fruit. Maybe a piece of dark chocolate. Maybe a whole additional meal because I’m hungry (as I stare at half a plate of food). Instead, I try to space my meals out with some distractions. Clean all the dishes first. Take out the garbage. Check on the garden. Take the dog for a walk. Anything that gets me away from the kitchen. I’d say 50% of the time I end up not eating anything additional. 40% of the time I eat something but way smaller than I initially thought. And 10% of the time I go for what I was thinking about. But 100% of the time it’s effective in slowing me down and spreading things out.
Get your spouse to change their habits. It’s amazing to me how I can be perfectly content after dinner, then my girlfriend plops down on the couch with a snack, and all of a sudden I feel like I need to eat. It’s almost like a survival instinct that kicks in. She’s eating, I should be eating. Conversely when she doesn’t snack, I feel a lot less temptation to dig in. In part because I feel glutenous if I’m the only one stuffing myself.
I can always go back for more. The downside of living in an environment of food abundance is that stopping yourself from eating more is very, very difficult. The upside is that you can always go back for more. Two things to avoid. 1) Don’t overload your plate. Chances are whatever you put on your plate you’re going to finish. Start with less than you want, then, embracing tip #4 above, wait a little, then go back for seconds. Give yourself the opportunity to stop before indulging. 2) Don’t re-fill your plate before you’re done eating. I’ve done this so many times. I tell myself I’m going to want more chicken, more veggie, more rice, before I’ve even finished what’s in front of me. So, I go get more while there is still food on my plate. Finish it all, because it’s now on my plate, and I never leave food behind. And wish I didn’t. Clear what you have first. Then go back.
Eating whole foods is the best way to combat over-eating. I don’t struggle with making poor food choices, meaning, I don’t eat fried foods, processed foods, foods laden with sugar or a bunch of unhealthy ingredients. 99% of what I eat is whole food ingredients. I struggle with eating too much. I love to eat. But the best way to off-set the effects of over-eating are to eat foods that are healthy for you. It’s hard to get into too much trouble chomping down on watermelon. Or overindulging in chicken breast. Or even a homemade burger from locally sourced regeneratively raised ground meat. Or potatoes. Or quinoa. Or almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Yes, if you overeat calories, you will put on weight. But it not all weight is created equal. If you stick to whole foods, the effects of overeating will be far less, and it will be easier to change your habits. Processed food is addicting and leads to unconscious overconsumption. Real food does not.