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| Namaste, Welcome to Body/Spirit Fitness. This is a site of information and ideas to support your physical health and inner journey. |
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Day 15 – The Management of Bad Eating Habits
Let’s take a look at some of your unhealthy food behavior. Most of us use food in
some way other than simple nourishment. What we have to do is learn to use
something other than food for our emotional or physical incentives. Instead of using
food, which will make us feel bad and perpetuate our weight problem, we need to use
a coping mechanism that will make us feel better about ourselves and support our
weight loss.
This means taking full responsibility for ourself and our actions. Stop letting yourself
off the hook. Say that you wanted to quit smoking. By taking up running you would
be introducing a positive behavior that will interfere with the negative behavior.
As the new positive behavior becomes established in your life, the old negative
behaviors become weaker and less ingrained. The other aspect of this method is
that as you concentrate on something else, you eliminate the bad habit by not giving
it power.
Using activities for sublimating unmanageable eating habits is one of your most
effective tools in weight loss management. First though, you must be aware of when
you eat too much and what triggers it.
If you know you overeat at night in front of the TV set, then you need to replace
either the eating or the TV. For example, you could substitute the eating with knitting
or doing exercises while watching TV. Or you can simply substitute the TV watching,
with reading or doing a home improvement project. The key is to be aware of your
self-defeating habits.
The more positive activities that you can think of to replace eating in your most
vulnerable situations; the better off you will be both physically and mentally.
Ultimately, remaining in your negative eating environment will take its toll on your self-
esteem.
It does take willpower to make changes in your life, but the payoffs will be more than
worth it. Dare to try new things. Make a list of positive actions you can start
introducing into your life. For example: exercising, taking up a new hobby, writing in a
journal, meditating, dancing, spending more time with a pet, spouse or child, learning
more about something that you are interested in, taking up sports that you have
always wanted to try – run. Run a marathon – start training (I promise you will lose
weight in training for a marathon), etc.
The next list to make is of the situations in which you are most vulnerable? Watching
TV, using the Internet, eating sweets at work, comfort food when you are down, when
you feel lonely, etc.
Don’t be afraid to really get to know yourself, and have the courage to change the
things that are holding you back. Now that you have the two lists, start inserting the
positive activities in the situations that you know trigger your eating setbacks.
Let’s say that tomorrow you know you are going to watch a football game, and this is
a susceptible situation for you. You need to decide ahead of time that you will either
watch it with raw vegetables as your snacks; that you will draw or paint a picture while
you watch it; or that you will listen to the game on the Ipod while you take the dog for
a long walk or run. These are just examples, of course, but the idea is to have a plan
and stick to it.
You have to be strong enough to control your impulse to return to negative eating
patterns. How you become strong is by achieving small successes with your
activities, and you will become more resolute with each small triumph.
So start today, writing down your vulnerable time and situations and then
corresponding positive responses to them. Map out your strategy and stop the
mindless self-destructive eating patterns that have taken you where you are now.
Dare to change! Small changes will turn into big rewards physically and emotionally.
Worksheet-Click Here
This is a sample of what your food for the day might look like. (Changes daily)
Vegetarians will substitute beans, soy products, tofu, tempeh, seitan, or other
vegetable proteins for any meat used in the sample diet.
Breakfast: Eggbeaters French toast made with whole grain bread, topped with
fruit, coffee with fat-free creamer = 1 carb, 1 protein, 1 fruit
Snack: half of whole-grain bagel, fat-free cream cheese = 1 carb, 1 dairy
Lunch: turkey on a salad, cranberries, and green beans = 1 protein, 2 veg.,
1 fruit
Snack: fruit smoothie = 1 fruit, 1 dairy
Dinner: vegetarian chili, raw carrots and celery, whole grain roll, and a glass of
wine =1 protein, 2 veg., 2 carb
Total = 3 proteins, 4 carbs (starchy), 4 veg., 3 fruits, 2 dairy
This is meant as a sample. We will change this daily.
For the Spirit:
What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to
choose life
~ Leo Buscaglia
Let’s take a look at some of your unhealthy food behavior. Most of us use food in
some way other than simple nourishment. What we have to do is learn to use
something other than food for our emotional or physical incentives. Instead of using
food, which will make us feel bad and perpetuate our weight problem, we need to use
a coping mechanism that will make us feel better about ourselves and support our
weight loss.
This means taking full responsibility for ourself and our actions. Stop letting yourself
off the hook. Say that you wanted to quit smoking. By taking up running you would
be introducing a positive behavior that will interfere with the negative behavior.
As the new positive behavior becomes established in your life, the old negative
behaviors become weaker and less ingrained. The other aspect of this method is
that as you concentrate on something else, you eliminate the bad habit by not giving
it power.
Using activities for sublimating unmanageable eating habits is one of your most
effective tools in weight loss management. First though, you must be aware of when
you eat too much and what triggers it.
If you know you overeat at night in front of the TV set, then you need to replace
either the eating or the TV. For example, you could substitute the eating with knitting
or doing exercises while watching TV. Or you can simply substitute the TV watching,
with reading or doing a home improvement project. The key is to be aware of your
self-defeating habits.
The more positive activities that you can think of to replace eating in your most
vulnerable situations; the better off you will be both physically and mentally.
Ultimately, remaining in your negative eating environment will take its toll on your self-
esteem.
It does take willpower to make changes in your life, but the payoffs will be more than
worth it. Dare to try new things. Make a list of positive actions you can start
introducing into your life. For example: exercising, taking up a new hobby, writing in a
journal, meditating, dancing, spending more time with a pet, spouse or child, learning
more about something that you are interested in, taking up sports that you have
always wanted to try – run. Run a marathon – start training (I promise you will lose
weight in training for a marathon), etc.
The next list to make is of the situations in which you are most vulnerable? Watching
TV, using the Internet, eating sweets at work, comfort food when you are down, when
you feel lonely, etc.
Don’t be afraid to really get to know yourself, and have the courage to change the
things that are holding you back. Now that you have the two lists, start inserting the
positive activities in the situations that you know trigger your eating setbacks.
Let’s say that tomorrow you know you are going to watch a football game, and this is
a susceptible situation for you. You need to decide ahead of time that you will either
watch it with raw vegetables as your snacks; that you will draw or paint a picture while
you watch it; or that you will listen to the game on the Ipod while you take the dog for
a long walk or run. These are just examples, of course, but the idea is to have a plan
and stick to it.
You have to be strong enough to control your impulse to return to negative eating
patterns. How you become strong is by achieving small successes with your
activities, and you will become more resolute with each small triumph.
So start today, writing down your vulnerable time and situations and then
corresponding positive responses to them. Map out your strategy and stop the
mindless self-destructive eating patterns that have taken you where you are now.
Dare to change! Small changes will turn into big rewards physically and emotionally.
Worksheet-Click Here
This is a sample of what your food for the day might look like. (Changes daily)
Vegetarians will substitute beans, soy products, tofu, tempeh, seitan, or other
vegetable proteins for any meat used in the sample diet.
Breakfast: Eggbeaters French toast made with whole grain bread, topped with
fruit, coffee with fat-free creamer = 1 carb, 1 protein, 1 fruit
Snack: half of whole-grain bagel, fat-free cream cheese = 1 carb, 1 dairy
Lunch: turkey on a salad, cranberries, and green beans = 1 protein, 2 veg.,
1 fruit
Snack: fruit smoothie = 1 fruit, 1 dairy
Dinner: vegetarian chili, raw carrots and celery, whole grain roll, and a glass of
wine =1 protein, 2 veg., 2 carb
Total = 3 proteins, 4 carbs (starchy), 4 veg., 3 fruits, 2 dairy
This is meant as a sample. We will change this daily.
For the Spirit:
What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to
choose life
~ Leo Buscaglia