Y Weight?

This week at Y Weight we discussed strategies to avoid mindless eating or overeating.  Below is a list of what we came up with, besides drinking lots of water and having a glass of water if you feel “hungry.”

Find other stress reducers/remove emotional eating:

·         Exercise is an amazing stress reducer and you get a double whammy: burning more calories!

·         Find new hobbies/habits.  Something that requires both hands or being outside.

·         Use your friends for support/workout buddies.  If they aren’t supportive, are they really a good friend?

Keep blood sugar steady:

·         Eat every 3-5 hours with at least two food groups in your snack and three per meal.  Don’t starve yourself.  That causes your metabolism to drop as well as promoting binges when you finally do eat. 

·         Avoid high carb snacks.  They cause a ‘”sugar high” from which you will crash down from in an hour or so, causing cravings and a repeat of the problem.

·         Eat breakfast.

·         Eat everything in moderation.  Small amount of sweets and salty foods are ok in a healthy balanced diet.

PLAN:

·         Your meals, snack, exercise, and groceries.  This will save a lot of time and calories.

·         Reduce your options.  When you have more to choose from, you will eat more.

·         Stop eating before you feel full.  About 6-8 on a scale of 1-10.

·         Leave some food on your plate.  You aren’t a child anymore; no one is making you eat every bite.  Break that habit.

Pay Attention:

·         Easy right?  Don’t eat when doing ANYTHING else.  Sit down.  At the table with your food in a proper vessel.  Perhaps even a smaller vessel than usual.   Don’t eat in front of the TV, reading a book…..

·         Don’t eat out of the package.  EVER.

·         “Close” the kitchen after dinner.

·         Brush your teeth.  Food generally doesn’t taste good with a minty mouth.

And finally:  Be nice to yourself!  Slipups may happen.  Drop the guilt and get back on the wagon ASAP.  If all else fails, go to bed.  You probably need more sleep anyways (save this one for after 7:00pm probably or you may cause unnecessary worry for your friends and family).

Do you have any ideas to add?