EATING WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE – Part II

Let’s continue to look at ways to improve our attitude with what we eat and therefore have a strong healthy mindset for our weight loss journey.  

Mindful eating is another great mindset. Being mindful during meals involves paying attention to the experience of your eating on purpose. It helps to rewire the brain’s response to food so you can distinguish between hunger cues and emotional responses in order to identify and reduce stress eating.

Ways to avoid mindless eating involve eating with family or friends, rather than alone, not watching tv, working on your computer or texting while eating, giving yourself time to decompress before eating if you were engaged in a stressful activity or situation before a meal, and chewing your food thoroughly before swallowing.

Practicing some self-compassion is also important to a healthy food mindset. If you constantly beat yourself up and engage in negative self-talk, this becomes self-sabotaging with regard to weight loss, or anything really. Self-compassion helps us maintain more positive behaviors when it comes to eating. We aren’t talking about permission to do what you want; it’s being kind when you aren’t perfect.

People with high self-compassion view the inevitable challenges and setbacks that occur in the pursuit of health and weight loss as part of being human, rather than immersing themselves in negative thoughts and feelings about their experience.

Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to improve your relationship with food. Sleep deprivation increases your cravings for processed foods high in bad fats and sugars. It also causes your mind to focus more on the negative, which we just discussed.

Getting some type of physical activity is also helpful. Exercise affects brain chemicals in a way that helps with behavior change. People who exercise consistently have been shown to start eating healthier foods. It is believed a boost in dopamine (one of your feel-good hormones) is triggered by moderate exercise. Remember, there is a right way and wrong way to exercise. The wrong exercise can actually stop weight loss or increase weight gain.

Another helpful aid is managing stress. Chronic stress has shown repeatedly to promote unhealthy eating behaviors. Studies on the effects of stress eating - including everything from stressed mothers of children with special needs (significantly so), work-related stress, and school-aged children with high levels of stress – repeatedly show a negative relationship between those with high levels of stress and negative food behaviors.

Being intentional about finding even small ways to reduce some stress is so important in helping to correct stress-induced hormonal imbalances and reduce cravings for what we call hyper-palatable foods.

Addressing chronic inflammation is also very helpful. Fortunately, that is what your GHS plan does. Although there are other reasons for inflammation, you can lower it greatly with an anti-inflammatory diet. It helps control food cravings, weight changes and appetite by helping with hunger and satiety signaling – which is part of your body chemistry.

Be proactive, too. Put fresh fruits and vegetables in a bowl on the counter in your kitchen for a visual cue. Put healthier items front and center in the fridge, and eliminate any foods you are tempted to overeat or that make you not feel well, as much as possible.

Being intentional with all that we have mentioned is what will sustain you throughout your weight loss journey and into maintenance.  As you practice developing a healthy food mindset you will find that you have learned how to make peace with food.