Weight Loss Behavior Modification
Whether good or bad, Habits are formed by repetition. Eating habits are no exception. If one engages in the activity of snacking while watching television, one reinforces that habit until finally it became a part of you. Many other habits are formed in the same way. Some of these undesirable eating habits are: eating while reading, eating the minute you come in the house, eating when the kids come in from school, eating when one comes home from a date, or eating while cooking dinner.
Certain moods and circumstances also cause people to eat even if they are not hungry. For example: anger, boredom, fatigue, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, anxiety, etc... may have the potential to trigger an eating response. Although habits are hard to break, one must not only overcome old habits, but also have a goal to form new, better ones in the same manner through repetition and daily commitments. Working towards meeting these commitments each day whether what one's mood maybe and such efforts will help you form good habits. Bear in mind that it is easier to act your way into a new way of feeling than it is to feel your way into a new way of acting.
Although resisting temptation can be difficult, one must bear in mind that if one succeeds in resisting the first time, it will become easier to resist the next time. Before long, one will develop the good habit of resisting temptation every time. But if one yield to that temptation, one will also find it easier to yield the next time.
Because of the human flaws stated above, one must use all available research and information known among weight control groups as behavior modification. It simply means changing your lifestyle. These techniques work only if one religiously performs them, so that they become a part of oneself.
SUGGESTED NEW HABITS
# Eating three meals a day and having only less than 4 planned snacks daily.
# Prolonging meals by consuming food slowly, putting down eating utensils between each bite and not picking them up until one have swallowed the food in between bites, even when consuming finger foods.
# Selecting specific places in one's home or office to consume all of one's meals, becoming one's "designated eating places" and should not be changed easily. Hence try not to eat at one's desk at work as it may make one prone to eat all day long and not just at meal time.
# Do not multitask while eating. Do not read, watch TV, talk on the phone, work, etc. One must be aware of the food one is consuming.
# Do not store any food or tidbits in any room in one's house except the kitchen. Food should also not be kept in "see-through" containers.
# Refrain from buying junk food. Remember that neither your mate nor your children needs it.
# Serve individual plates from the stove and do not practice family-style serving on the table. But if this is not possible, put the serving dishes on the opposite end of the table.
# Serving oneself on a smaller plate.
# Developing a habit of leaving at least one bite of each item on your plate. Mastering this enables one to stop eating when you feel full as one will then be used to leaving leftover food.
All of the above mentioned eating techniques can greatly aid in behavior modification. Other behavior modification techniques not related to eating can be tailored to substitute activities for consumption, for example substituting another activity such as exercising for between meal snacking. If one is in the habit of going straight to the kitchen and eating frequently when entering the house, try to change this habit by going to another room of the house when one reaches home. Delay going into the kitchen until the desire to eat diminishes. When one is greatly tempted to eat, using one of the following substitute activities may help:
Take a walk
Take a long bath
Call a friend
Get out of the house
Write a letter
Read a book
Having an interesting hobby to busy yourself with can also aid in a huge way, for example,:
Cross-stitch
Painting
Floral arranging
Ceramics
Wood working
Gardening
Genealogical research
Sports
Surf the Web
Catch up on your email
Certain moods and circumstances also cause people to eat even if they are not hungry. For example: anger, boredom, fatigue, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, anxiety, etc... may have the potential to trigger an eating response. Although habits are hard to break, one must not only overcome old habits, but also have a goal to form new, better ones in the same manner through repetition and daily commitments. Working towards meeting these commitments each day whether what one's mood maybe and such efforts will help you form good habits. Bear in mind that it is easier to act your way into a new way of feeling than it is to feel your way into a new way of acting.
Although resisting temptation can be difficult, one must bear in mind that if one succeeds in resisting the first time, it will become easier to resist the next time. Before long, one will develop the good habit of resisting temptation every time. But if one yield to that temptation, one will also find it easier to yield the next time.
Because of the human flaws stated above, one must use all available research and information known among weight control groups as behavior modification. It simply means changing your lifestyle. These techniques work only if one religiously performs them, so that they become a part of oneself.
SUGGESTED NEW HABITS
# Eating three meals a day and having only less than 4 planned snacks daily.
# Prolonging meals by consuming food slowly, putting down eating utensils between each bite and not picking them up until one have swallowed the food in between bites, even when consuming finger foods.
# Selecting specific places in one's home or office to consume all of one's meals, becoming one's "designated eating places" and should not be changed easily. Hence try not to eat at one's desk at work as it may make one prone to eat all day long and not just at meal time.
# Do not multitask while eating. Do not read, watch TV, talk on the phone, work, etc. One must be aware of the food one is consuming.
# Do not store any food or tidbits in any room in one's house except the kitchen. Food should also not be kept in "see-through" containers.
# Refrain from buying junk food. Remember that neither your mate nor your children needs it.
# Serve individual plates from the stove and do not practice family-style serving on the table. But if this is not possible, put the serving dishes on the opposite end of the table.
# Serving oneself on a smaller plate.
# Developing a habit of leaving at least one bite of each item on your plate. Mastering this enables one to stop eating when you feel full as one will then be used to leaving leftover food.
All of the above mentioned eating techniques can greatly aid in behavior modification. Other behavior modification techniques not related to eating can be tailored to substitute activities for consumption, for example substituting another activity such as exercising for between meal snacking. If one is in the habit of going straight to the kitchen and eating frequently when entering the house, try to change this habit by going to another room of the house when one reaches home. Delay going into the kitchen until the desire to eat diminishes. When one is greatly tempted to eat, using one of the following substitute activities may help:
Take a walk
Take a long bath
Call a friend
Get out of the house
Write a letter
Read a book
Having an interesting hobby to busy yourself with can also aid in a huge way, for example,:
Cross-stitch
Painting
Floral arranging
Ceramics
Wood working
Gardening
Genealogical research
Sports
Surf the Web
Catch up on your email
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