Here is my top 10 bad habits that you should stop in order to speed up your weight loss.
1. Clearing Your Plate
I can remember when I was a child, my mum telling me that I couldn't leave the table at dinner time until I had cleared my plate. Sadly this is an attitude that many of us take forward into adulthood. You feel bad about leaving food on your plate even if you feel full. This can lead to overeating.
It's important to learn to listen to the signals that your body is giving you. If you feel full then stop eating.
2. Skipping Meals
Dont get into the mindset of thinking that skipping a meal is a good thing as you are eating less. As well as missing out on nutrients, it just means that you will be more inclined to snack between meals. It will also be harder for you to choose healthy snacks as your blood sugar levels will have dropped due to missing a meal and your body will be craving something sweet to rectify this.
3. Emotional Eating
This is a big one for me. If I have a bad day or I'm sad or fed up then my first instinct is turn to food. It's not a solution though and doesn't make you feel better in the long term. I try to use distraction techniques to take my mind off food. A good trick is to go and brush your teeth. That always works for me!
4. Not Drinking Enough
So much has been written about the benefits of keeping yourself hydrated that I don't need to go into details here. It benefits you in numerous ways. If I think I feel peckish and fancy a snack then I often have a drink of water instead, it's surprising how often I then realise that I didn't really want anything to eat.
5. Cutting Out Food Groups
The body needs nutrients from a wide selection of food in order to thrive. You may think that cutting out a food group such as carbohydrates will help you lose weight and in the short term, it probably will. In the long term your body could be missing out. I believe it is better to eat in moderation from all food groups.
6. Using Exercise As An Excuse To Eat
By this I mean that just because you have exercised for half an hour, that does not justify eating s doughnut. This is another habit that I used to have until I googled how long it takes for the body to actually burn off high calories snacks such as doughnuts. I was very surprised. Now I follow the principle that Exercise Doesn't Justify Excess
7. Not Getting Enough Sleep
I've already covered this in detail in one of my previous posts. Not getting sufficient sleep every night can interfere with your body's hormone production and may slow down your weight loss.
8. Eating Too Late
Your body will find it more difficult to burn off food consumed late at night as you will normally not be as active at this time. I try to follow the old principle that you should "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper."
9. Choosing The Wrong Snacks
if you need to build snacks into your daily food intake then look for ones that are not just low in fat but that are low in sugar too. If you can keep your blood sugar level steady throughout the day then it's much easier to stick to healthy choices.
10. Unconscious Eating
This is eating without really thinking about it. I was guilty of this one today. I was clearing away breakfast, my daughter had left some toast and I just took a bite. The trouble is that all those bites add up and it does make a difference. So just try and think before you nibble at anything.
I hope that you find some of these useful. I just tried to think of habits that I have struggled to break and that I know are not particularly good for me. Speak to you soon
Love Erica xxx
Dont get into the mindset of thinking that skipping a meal is a good thing as you are eating less. As well as missing out on nutrients, it just means that you will be more inclined to snack between meals. It will also be harder for you to choose healthy snacks as your blood sugar levels will have dropped due to missing a meal and your body will be craving something sweet to rectify this.
3. Emotional Eating
This is a big one for me. If I have a bad day or I'm sad or fed up then my first instinct is turn to food. It's not a solution though and doesn't make you feel better in the long term. I try to use distraction techniques to take my mind off food. A good trick is to go and brush your teeth. That always works for me!
4. Not Drinking Enough
So much has been written about the benefits of keeping yourself hydrated that I don't need to go into details here. It benefits you in numerous ways. If I think I feel peckish and fancy a snack then I often have a drink of water instead, it's surprising how often I then realise that I didn't really want anything to eat.
5. Cutting Out Food Groups
The body needs nutrients from a wide selection of food in order to thrive. You may think that cutting out a food group such as carbohydrates will help you lose weight and in the short term, it probably will. In the long term your body could be missing out. I believe it is better to eat in moderation from all food groups.
6. Using Exercise As An Excuse To Eat
By this I mean that just because you have exercised for half an hour, that does not justify eating s doughnut. This is another habit that I used to have until I googled how long it takes for the body to actually burn off high calories snacks such as doughnuts. I was very surprised. Now I follow the principle that Exercise Doesn't Justify Excess
7. Not Getting Enough Sleep
I've already covered this in detail in one of my previous posts. Not getting sufficient sleep every night can interfere with your body's hormone production and may slow down your weight loss.
8. Eating Too Late
Your body will find it more difficult to burn off food consumed late at night as you will normally not be as active at this time. I try to follow the old principle that you should "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper."
9. Choosing The Wrong Snacks
if you need to build snacks into your daily food intake then look for ones that are not just low in fat but that are low in sugar too. If you can keep your blood sugar level steady throughout the day then it's much easier to stick to healthy choices.
10. Unconscious Eating
This is eating without really thinking about it. I was guilty of this one today. I was clearing away breakfast, my daughter had left some toast and I just took a bite. The trouble is that all those bites add up and it does make a difference. So just try and think before you nibble at anything.
I hope that you find some of these useful. I just tried to think of habits that I have struggled to break and that I know are not particularly good for me. Speak to you soon
Love Erica xxx
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