Eating Habits

We all have different eating habits and most of these are learned, usually from our parents (that doesn’t mean we can all blame our Mums for our failure to eat healthily).

Humans are creatures of habit and once we have set ourselves into a routine it can be very hard to change.

Bad eating habits

Not eating breakfast. – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it refuels you. If you don’t eat in the morning you are more likely to snack on junk later because your blood sugar levels will have dropped causing cravings for sweet foods.

Eating at the wrong time of day. – This is a common problem. Many people are busy during traditional eating times therefore eating a meal is pushed down the list of things to do or replaced with a quick fix that is generally packed with sugar and fat. It seems easier to fill up on these foods late in the evening when we are sitting in front of the T.V. This habit is a big cause of weight gain because we are eating high carb foods and not burning off the calories, we go to bed and literally gain weight over night.

The binge and starve cycle – Both of the above bad eating habits contribute to this one. You skip breakfast and your body starts to enter starvation mode. At lunch you grab a calorific junk food snack, as a precautionary measure your body stores this as fat because it thinks that you may starve it again.

By the time you get home in the evening you are very hungry, as you cook your meal you snack on any sweet items that you can get your hands on.  After you have wolfed down your meal you still feel hungry so you have a dessert, then a few nibbles and a couple glasses of wine. You go to bed after filling up on high sugar fat and calorie foods.

The next morning you skip breakfast because you are in a hurry and you feel guilty for all of your over eating the night before. And so the cycle starts again.

To fix your bad eating habits you need to recognise where you are going wrong. Using a food diary can be very helpful. Once you understand your downfalls you can replace them with good eating habits.

Good eating habits

Getting your five a day – The UK government recommends that we should be eating at least 5 portions of fruit and veg each day. From a health point of view we should aim to eat 9 portions a day. Eating fruit for breakfast is a good start to the day combine with a whole grain such as oats for a breakfast that will keep you going till lunch.

Drinking water – Eight glasses or two litres a day is the optimum amount, even more if you are exercising a lot or if the weather is hot. Your body needs water to burn fat, to enable clear thinking and for all bodily functions to work effectively. Without water we would die within a week.

Regular meals – This is an important eating habit to start as it keeps your metabolism stable. Many people think eating 5 or 6 small nutritious meals is better than 2 or 3 large meals. Experiment - try both ways see which fits best with your lifestyle and how each way makes you feel. Just make sure that you are eating regular healthy meals

Eat a rainbow – Ensuring that you have a good mixture of colours in each meal will help you to get a wide range of different nutrients from your diet.