Forget diets - try these 3 habits for better eating

Eating well doesn’t have to mean counting every calorie, counting every single almond and slice of apple.

It just doesn’t need to be THAT difficult and rigid.  

Some of the most powerful ways to improve your nutrition and in turn, your weight is by focusing on the simple, repeatable habits you can do without ever thinking about them.

Similar to how you don’t even think about how you will brush your teeth each morning, nutrition can find its way into your normal routine and support a healthy lifestyle.  

Three key habits I want to talk about today are: slowing down your eating, mindfully eating, and using your hands for portion management.  

Slow it down

As a busy parent and business owner, I can totally understand how eating meals becomes more like a speed bump that is necessary and "in the way" rather than an enjoyable experience.  

We are most definitely in a world where time is of the essence, where there isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things.  Our day to day jobs have increased to show up at home, on weekends…family life rarely slows down as kids have activities, sports, and all the things that leave you feeling short on time.  

So I say the following knowing that this is the case not just for me, but for you reading this. 

We need to learn how to slow down our eating.

For those who eat at the kitchen counter as they are preparing meals for kids...for those who are scarfing down a meal before running back out in between work hours and activity hours.  For those who are eating at their desk before a meeting at work…we need to slow down.

Why is slowing down important to your nutrition and health?

Well, it takes about 20 minutes for your body to register fullness.  What’s this mean for most people? They finish a plate in less than 10 minutes, still feel hungry and add either a snack or add some seconds to their plate. 

Then another 15 minutes go by and you are feeling overly stuffed.  You then feel that bloat, the full stomach and probably feel a bit of lethargy.  

IF you are finding eating more slowly to be difficult..try these things:

• Put fork down between bites

• Chew more than you think you need

• Drink water during the meal

• Try “half-way check in’s”.  (Checking to see if you are still hungry)

• Put a timer next to you and set it for 15 minutes.  Make sure you are still eating once the 15 minutes hit.

These strategies can help to improve your eating habits and slow you down.  When you slow down, you give your body time to digest and to send that message to your brain saying “STOP!”

Practice mindful eating

Mindfulness isn’t just the buzz word of the decade - it’s a real thing that can help transform your food/eating experience.  

Now this one might be a bit similar to slowing down as you must be MINDFUL of how fast or slow you are eating.

However the distinction with this one here is all about your surrounding environment, your emotional state, and your in the moment eating experience.  

I would define Mindful eating as something that has you paying attention to what, when, and why you are eating.  

The benefits of being mindful when you eat are:

• Helps to reduce overeating

• Improves digestion

• Increases food enjoyment

The key for this one is to be free from distractions.  This means no phone or TV when you are eating  (Easier said than done, I know I’m a chronic eating while watching TV kind of guy).

Eating with distractions doesn't allow us to fully enjoy the meal - to process its texture/flavors.  

Stress eating is a very common trend that many people fall into.  Now this isn’t going to be perfect but take a beat in those moments you are feeling extreme stress and feel that urge/craving of something sweet come trickling into the brain.  

I know I’ve had the thought before..something like 

“Screw it I don’t care that I shouldn’t be eating cookies at 4PM before dinner but I just need something and don’t care about the impact”

In these moments it would be much more helpful to take a moment, process what you are feeling and THEN decide if those cookies are worth it. 

I’ve noticed personally when I’m able to take a breath, slow down my thinking it results in the craving going away.  

And the beauty of a craving…it USUALLY wanes the further away from the moment you get.  So if you had a craving but were able to avoid the initial push to eat something…that will go away.  Unless you are actually hungry, which in that case…go eat something!

Use your hands for portion control

Rather than focus on counting calories, I always recommend clients of mine to use their hands to measure their food.  

The beauty of using your hand to portion control is that you always have your hands on you.  You always have this “built-in measuring tool”.  

It also scales with everyone’s own unique size.  Bigger hands generally means you’ll need bigger portions.  Smaller hands will call for smaller portions.  All relevant to one’s own natural body type.  

I like this a lot because of how quick you can “portion out” your meals.  No weighing on the scale, no pre-counting of calories…just comparing a scoop of pasta to your hand.  

The measurements you would use are the following:

• Protein = palm

• Carbs = cupped hand

• Veggies =  fist

• Healthy fats = thumb

In terms of portion recommendations let’s talk about general portions for men and women.  

If the goal is to lose weight:

Men eat 2 servings of protein, 2 servings of veggies, 1-2 servings of carbs, 1-2 servings of fat PER meal.

Women eat 1-2 servings of protein, 2 servings of veggies, 1 serving carbs, 1 serving of fat.

For muscle gain

Men eat 2 servings of protein, 1 serving of veggies, 2 servings of carbs, 2 servings of fat

Women eat 2 servings of protein, 1 serving of veggies, 2 servings of carbs, 2 servings of fat

These are general guidelines that can be further defined with specific goals and starting points.  

However the key point is this : you can use your hands to quickly figure out how much you are eating, and if it falls in line with your current goal!!

Final word

Eating healthily doesn’t need to be difficult.  I don’t think I ever met a person who didn’t know what they should be eating.  

You KNOW that eating your greens is probably a good idea.  You KNOW that french fries and pizza are probably not the best day to day meal of choice.  You KNOW that having plenty of lean protein is going to help you build muscle and stay full.

Healthy eating is all about your habits and HOW you eat.  If you eat too fast…try slowing down and see if that helps you eat a little bit less.  

If you fill up your plate to the brim, maybe use your hands to see how much of each food should be on your plate to stay within your goals.  

If you snack mindlessly after a stressful day, maybe take some deep breaths and recognize that the craving you have is from stress, and not from hunger. 

My suggestion to you : pick ONE of these 3 things and focus on it for a week.  Shoot for an 80% success rate.  If you can do that, then add a second habit into your routine!

If you are having trouble and want support in building sustainable nutrition habits, book an intro with me and we can talk!

https://calendly.com/foreverfitmethod/freeintro