A New You Begins With New Habits

Habits - good and bad - are formed by repetition. Experts say it takes 28 days to form a habit or to break one. Your eating habits are no exception. If you are in the habit of snacking when you watch TV, the behavior became reinforced by the repeated action and it eventually became a regular occurrence.

Other habits are formed the same way. Think back to your schedule in the morning when you’re getting ready for work. Do you perform the same tasks that you did in the day before? Perhaps the week before? Not all habits are bad, of course, but changing our bad eating habits requires behavior modification. Below are a few tips that might help you during this transition.

1) Eat three meals a day plus three snacks.
2) Prolong your meals by eating slowly.
3) Choose a specific place in your home or office to eat all of your meals
4) Do not do anything except eat when you sit down for a meal. Do not read, watch TV, talk on the phone, etc. Make yourself aware of the food you are eating. Focus on the conversation and enjoy your meal.
5) Do not keep food in any room in your house except the kitchen. Do not keep food such as cookies out on the counters. Do not store items in “see-through” containers.
6) Do not buy junk food. Neither your mare nor your children needs it.
7) If possible, serve individual plates from the stove and do not serve them family style on the table. If this is not possible, put the serving dishes on the opposite end of the table.
8) Serve yourself on a smaller plate.
9) Develop a habit of leaving at least one bite of each item on your plate. If you can master this, it becomes easier to stop eating when you feel full. You will be used to leaving food on your plate.

It gets easier, but if you find yourself battling temptation, remove yourself from the situation by taking a brisk walk, take a long bath, read a book, or call a friend. Cravings only last 7 minutes, so relax. You can do this!