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If we stop and think about it, we might all agree that it would be awesome if we learned how to put the correct amount of food into our body each day. We might further agree it would be great if we chose the healthiest foods and spaced them out over the course of the day so that we could set up a healthy eating pattern for life. It would wonderful it we learned to eat this way 95% of the time.
This all sounds so simple but the fact remains that the majority of our nation continues to struggle with overeating. Why do so many millions among us still operate as if overeating is not that big a deal? There are several reasons and here are my top five.
1) Eating without accountability is fun. We don’t want to count calories and learn how many calories we’re actually eating each day. It would take the fun out of anticipating what we were going to eat next. We like that element of surprise. If we took the time to count calories and learn how many calories we’re eating, we would realize we’d have to become accountable in order to lose weight and keep it off on a permanent basis. If we don’t know how many calories we're eating and never take the time to find out, we can continue to throw complete abandon and know that we’re with the majority of the approximate 68% of our nation that is either overweight or obese.
2) Eating without accountability fills voids that we wish to ignore or don’t wish to face. Eating takes our mind off of the voids in our lives.
3) Eating without accountability temporarily relieves our everyday stresses in life. Many times, we eat for comfort.
4) Eating without accountability can make us feel as though we’re temporarily lifting our spirits when we’re depressed.
5) Eating without accountability is a habit that we have ingrained into our systems over the course of many years. In many cases, it is a part of our culture. Food is almost everywhere we look throughout the course of the day!
These are my five top reasons why many of us overeat in America. I say this because I personally experienced each and every one of them before I set up a healthy eating pattern and learned how many calories I actually needed to eat each day. Please realize, once I learned this, I did not have to continue to count calories on a daily basis. I did it all while I was in weight loss mode and shortly thereafter in order to learn to maintain my proper weight.
We have the power within us to take the time and ask ourselves one important question each time we pick up a piece of food: What is the true reason I am considering eating this at this moment?
If it's for any of the top reasons above, put the food down and make the choice to distract yourself in another area. Remember, you're breaking a habit. When I first learned to do this, I had to actually take food away from my mouth, put it down and walk away.
Setting up a structured healthy eating pattern throughout the course of the day at scheduled times can prevent overeating. It can become your daily "go to plan". It can become how you choose to eat in a healthful manner on a daily basis 95% of the time. Choosing the best foods possible to eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner each day is a great way to break unhealthy habits. Eating healthy mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks can prevent us from becoming overly hungry before our scheduled times of eating.
Learning how many calories we need to eat in weight loss mode and maintenance is a great basis for losing and maintaining weight permanently. The knowledge we gain can prove invaluable for life.
We can do it; we simply have to face the facts and create new habits for life!
Have a great day!
