It is possible to break old, harmful connections and create new, healthier bonds with our bodies and food.
PLAN MENU
It is always easier to control what we eat if there is a plan than if we improvise. Preparing healthy weekly menus can be very helpful.
The same happens if we plan what to eat when we leave the house. If you have already thought about it and planned it, you will not be so tempted by the bad choices of those around you. It will also help to go shopping with a list and do it when you have already eaten properly.
CHANGE WHAT IS IN SIGHT AND ACCESSIBLE
If we see it, we want it. If I see fruit or healthy, nutritious food in my kitchen, I am more likely to want to eat fruit or whatever I have planned.
If temptation gets in our heads, it will end up in our mouths, so better to have a healthy temptation.
AVOID DISTRACTING ELEMENTS AT THE TABLE
We must try to eat calmly and orderly without being distracted by television, any kind of reading, or the phone… All this is to be more attentive to the signals of satiety and be more open to listening to what our wise body tells us.
USE LARGER CUTLERY
According to a essayswriter study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the larger the fork or spoon we use, the less food we eat without perceiving it, which can decrease by up to 20%.
SERVING SMALL AMOUNTS
We are likely to be satiated with what is served, saving us from overeating because we want to finish everything on a large or large plate.
In addition, eating in small portions allows us to pay more attention to the sensory properties of the food. In such a way, if necessary, we can repeat when our physical hunger is satiated.
EAT WITH YOUR LEFT HAND IF YOU ARE RIGHT-HANDED (AND VICE VERSA)
If we try it and undo an automatism, we become aware and will surely appreciate that, when using the cutlery with the hand that is more difficult for us to dominate, we eat less quantity and more slowly. It can also help us to take the act of eating as a pleasant and playful game.
EAT SLOWLY AND WITHOUT RUSHING
This allows time for the hormones that send the satiety signals to reach our brain from our stomach and intestine. Eating slowly also helps to better metabolize the food we eat.
GETTING UP FROM THE TABLE AFTER FINISHING A MEAL
Picking up or starting other activities takes the focus away from eating. Or we can remove the plates of food and serve some herbal teas if we want to continue enjoying the after-dinner conversation with others.
The automatisms and routines we have acquired have meaning in our lives. They have helped us by giving us structure. They may no longer make sense, or we may need to change them. Habits do not disappear by themselves and must be replaced by others through insistence and perseverance.
Small changes result in big achievements. According to psychologist and eating behavior expert Brian Wansink, in his book Mindless Eating, small changes in the way we place, distribute and serve food are enough to completely change our eating habits.
Introducing simple variations in our daily eating routines may allow us to lose weight steadily and safely and improve our eating habits towards healthier ones.
How we eat depends a lot on the context, so changing the context will change how we eat.
