Losing weight is not easy. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be obesity. Yet too many people try to oversimplify the challenges of weight loss by saying it’s about eating less and exercising more. But that’s not all. You also need to adopt other healthy lifestyle habits, such as stress management and sleep.
There is no doubt that how and what you eat plays an important role in weight loss and weight control. Studies show that diet is more important than exercise, although exercise is excellent for improving body composition and maintaining weight loss.
If you’re struggling to lose those extra pounds, make sure to consciously adopt eating habits that make those stubborn rolls of body fat harder to get rid of. Let’s take a look at some of the most common eating habits that harm your waistline and block your fat loss progress.
Eating at a restaurant or getting takeout is convenient but unhealthy. Even when you smartly order a side of broccoli instead of fries, the cook may have prepared the broccoli in an unhealthy oil. Most restaurants use cheap oils like corn oil and soybean oil rather than healthier options such as olive oil. Even worse are fast food offerings.
At most fast food places, everything on the menu is deceptively calorie-dense and ultra-processed, not to mention the added salt and sugar. Studies even show that the packaging that fast food comes in contains substances that disrupt the endocrine system.
When you eat at a restaurant, it’s also hard to judge and control portion sizes. You might think you are eating one serving when it is more likely 2 or more. When you cook at home, you control what goes into your mouth and what ends up on your belly. Make home cooking an adventure; challenge yourself with new healthy recipes. You’ll have the added confidence of knowing exactly what went into your food.
Decades ago, families sat down for a pleasant home-cooked meal. Now, people eat on the run and while doing other things. When you eat in front of a computer screen or the television, you don’t appreciate the sensory characteristics of what you are eating—the aroma, taste, and texture. Another downside is that you tend to eat more and feel less satisfied. The best way to eat is calmly, with your senses focused on the food. Mindful eating will help you eat less, enjoy what you eat more, and lose weight.
It’s not just how many calories you eat, but what kind of calories you put on your plate. Dieting is an outdated term because it does not lead to sustained weight loss, and overly restricting calories is unhealthy. Instead, focus on the type of food you are eating. Your body quickly converts ultra-processed foods, starches, and sugar into glucose, causing a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar levels. When blood sugar drops quickly, it triggers hunger.
Adding more protein and fiber to your diet from whole food sources is key to staying satisfied for hours. Fiber increases the viscosity of food as it moves through the digestive tract. This slows the rate at which the stomach empties after a meal, making you feel full longer.
If you are sipping a sugary drink during and between meals, you are adding substantial less-nutritious calories. It’s wasteful for your waistline. Soft drinks are in a class by themselves. A single can of regular soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. You might think diet sodas are a less harmful alternative but studies show that our brain expects calories to be associated with something sweet.
There is evidence that artificial sweeteners alter the gut microbiome in ways that might lead to weight gain. Replace sodas and other sugary beverages with unsweetened tea or water.
Many people are emotional eaters. They eat not because they are physiologically hungry but because they seek distraction from other problems and emotions. It’s also the type of eating you do when you are angry, lonely, bored, or otherwise unhappy. Emotional eaters usually snack on comfort foods high in sugar and fat.
One way to find out if you are eating for emotional reasons is to keep a food diary. Note what you eat and what emotions you feel at that moment. This way, you’ll be more aware of what you feel when you have the urge for comfort food. There is likely some other feeling mixed in there, like anger, loneliness, boredom, or frustration.
If you identify this pattern, seek other ways to relieve stress, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, or a walk outdoors in nature. It will take time, and possibly counseling, to recover from emotional eating, but doing so will make weight control easier.
Conclusion
You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to be strict all the time to lose weight, but you will have more success if you avoid these five common eating habits that make losing weight harder.
Sources:
- Medical Daily. “Want To Stop Snacking So Much? Try Eating Off A Red Plate”
- Appetite 58 (2012) 299-302.
- Kuźbicka K, Rachoń D. Bad eating habits as the main cause of obesity among children. Pediatr Endocrinol Diabetes Metab. 2013;19(3):106-10. PMID: 25577898.
- “Distracted eating may add to weight gain – Harvard Health.” 29 Mar. 2013, .health.harvard.edu/blog/distracted-eating-may-add-to-weight-gain-201303296037.
- Pang MD, Goossens GH, Blaak EE. The Impact of Artificial Sweeteners on Body Weight Control and Glucose Homeostasis. Front Nutr. 2021 Jan 7;7:598340. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.598340. PMID: 33490098; PMCID: PMC7817779.
- “Phthalates and their replacements measured in US fast food ….” 05 Nov. 2021, foodpackagingforum.org/news/phthalates-and-their-replacements-measured-in-us-fast-food.
