Health » Healthy Eating Habits

BloomingFit Top 10 Eating Habits

We lead such busy lives today and seem to be in a permanent rush, under pressure to meet a deadline and always on the go.

We eat because the clock says so, because we have 5 minutes spare, because we can cram it in whilst we drive.

We hardly ever seem to eat in genuine response to the fact we are actually hungry

We rarely take the time even enjoy what we are eating or check if we're full

Our body already has the perfect mechanism to keep us at perfect healthy weight.... we've just stopped listening to it!

The body and mind connection is so incredibly powerful and clever.

The body has the ability to send signals like email messages to provoke a certain response.

If we ignore these messages they become more insistent and attention seeking.

During the course of our life we learn to respond to these signals in a certain manner.

If we do this on a consistent basis the response become almost automatic. Quite simply put, they become a habit

The great news is that habits can be broken and changed in a very short space of time once you become mindful of them.

By regularly and consistently applying new and positive responses and actions you can turn your life around.

BloomingFit Top 10 Eating Habits

These may sound simple and common sense which they are

We often loose sight of the basic facts and look for more complicated answers.

However by applying these 10 changes on a consistent regular basis you will be amazed at the great result to both your waistline, your health and your enjoyment of food

1. Eat only when you are hungry
Listen to your appetite. Ask yourself "Am I really hungry?" So many of us turn to food as a response for other feelings. Think HALT - Hungry Angry Lonely Tired. Or maybe you’re simply bored. By making the connection to your true appetite, you are able to respond to what your body physically needs; rather than feeding your emotional wants

2. Sit to eat
Always be sitting down when you eat .It is easy to get into the habit of eating on the run. Eating a sandwich whilst shopping in your lunch break. Munching crisps as you prepare dinner. Nibbling a chocolate bar as you walk the dog. If you sit to eat, you are more focused and mindful of what and how you are eating

3. Chew in the moment
Slow down your eating. Chew, savour and delight in the flavour of your food. So many of us eat on the run. We become almost unaware with the fact that we have eaten anything. By slowing down the speed at which you eat you allow more enzymes in the mouth to aid the digestive process by extracting even more nutrients. You also give your appetite centre time to acknowledge the fact that you have food in your stomach. This helps stop it from prematurely sending ‘eat more’ signals. Psychologically, by chewing in the moment you will appreciate and connect with the food you are eating.

4. Stop eating when you are comfortably full
Listen to your body signals which say "I’m comfortably full, thank you for asking". However, note that it takes at least 10 minutes after eating for a message to travel from your stomach to the appetite control centre in your brain. Have patience. Try waiting 10 minutes to see if you really are still hungry for more.

5. Water, water
Drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water daily will help flush out internal toxins and waste products. It will give you more energy, improve your digestion and aid your body systems to perform more effectively.

6. Think snack attack
Every time you eat your metabolic rate rises. Rather than adopting the habit of ‘main meal planning, try to plan a variety of nutritious snacks through out the day. When you are pregnant, your blood sugar levels become more unstable and are prone to rise and fall more quickly. By eating small regular snack mini-meals when you are hungry helps keep these levels stable to provide consistent energy throughout the day. Also, as your bump takes up more abdominal space, eating large meals can be uncomfortable and add to indigestion problems.

7. You are not a rubbish bin
Finishing off that last fish finger or scoop of ice cream left over does count towards your daily dietary intake. The problem with behaving like a human rubbish bin is that it goes against all the above. Secondly, it becomes a negative and automatic habit. If you need any more convincing, just for one day empty ALL the left over contents from one day into a separate bowl. By the end of the day review what would have been in your tummy and not the bowl! Convinced?

8. Follow the 80 / 20 rule
A healthy diet should be enjoyable, delicious as well as nutritious If 80% of the time you choose nutritiously packed food, the other 20% of the time you can feel free to truly enjoy other foods you want.

9. Resist late night munchies
When you eat late in the evening, the calories consumed are generally stored straight to the fat reserve cells (unless you have just done an evening exercise session prior to eating). If you feel the need for LNM, choose a light and nutritious mini snack rather than a full blown ‘munch out’.

10. Leave the pattern on your plate
Always leave some food on your plate, no matter how small a morsel. Psychologically this helps you connect with your true appetite, rather than your habit to eat everything in front of you. By leaving a serving of mashed potato will not solve the world debt of developing countries. It will only add to your long term obesity weight related health risk, and put more pressure on the NHS.

Remember our body already has the perfect mechanism to keep us at perfect healthy weight.... so keep listening to it!