Breaking Bad Diet Habits

They say old habits die hard. That phrase was never truer than for a dieter trying to change lifestyle habits.  Breaking bad diet habits means changing your eating habits more so than the food itself that you are eating. When you change your mindset and behavior towards food, you will have much more success with weight loss.

It may seem overwhelming, but it really isn’t. The simplest way of breaking bad diet habits are replacing them with healthy ones. When you think of it that way, it doesn’t feel like you are giving up something or being deprived.

Here are some important things you need to do to break these dietary boo-boos.

Breaking Bad Diet Habits: Tip #1 –Stop Eating Late in the Evening

You should stop taking in calories no later than 7:00 PM and just continue to drink water to fill you up. By that time, most people have had their dinner and are beginning to wind down from their day. That means that any calories you consume will not be burned off. They’ll be stored in your body as excess nutrition for your body to use later. Stored calories are held in fat cells.

Break this bad habit by exercising in the late afternoon or early evening. When you exercise, your body will continue to burn calories and fat for a few hours. However, don’t exercise too late because it will keep you up longer than you may want.

If you cannot do all of your exercising at one time, it’s ok. If you only have 15 or 20 minutes here and there through the day, take advantage. If you work, walk on your breaks.

Breaking Bad Diet Habits: Tip #2- Don’t eat mindlessly

Pay attention to what you are eating. Don’t just record or count what you are eating during your major meals. Everything you put in your mouth has calories. Some people can resist the urge to eat zombie style while others may find it hard.

When you are feeling the urge to eat, write it down immediately in a journal. Record exactly what you have eaten and how much of it you ate along with the number of calories of the food you consumed.

Breaking Bad Diet Habits: Tip #3 -Quit Making Excuses

You probably have heard if not made a ton of excuses as to why you haven’t been able to lose weight. It could be anything from not having enough time to a sluggish thyroid or faulty genetics.

Whatever your excuse, just stop kidding yourself and knock it off. If you really want to lose weight and are willing to educate yourself and what issues you need to address with your body, you can lose pounds and fat. The only thing that keeps people from losing weight is falling back on the reason it is so hard for them.

Understand that no one loses weight at the same rate, but don’t use your excuses as a crutch.

Breaking Bad Diet Habits: Tip #4-Forget About Fad Diets

The temptation to lose weight quickly leads to an endless cycle of fad diets. They usually advocate dietary extremes such as eating only one type of food or eating next to nothing.

Your body will simply not be able to handle these crazy things and it will fight back by retaining what it would normally burn off. This is why people who will melt off the pounds in the first couple of months with these diets end up failing.

Eat in moderation and exercise regularly. You will not lose the weight as fast as you want, but it will stay off longer. How many people do you know who say I want to lose 40 pounds and get it back? No one of course, but that is exactly what thousands of people do every day with these Fad diets.

Breaking Bad Diet Habits: Tip# 5 Make a Clear Plan and Stick to It

The shortest path between two points is a straight line. You have to write down a clear plan, mini-goals and stick to it like nobody’s business.

The best way to keep track of a plan is to use a journal or log. It can be just a simple notebook. You want to keep track of how often you exercise and how long along with how many calories you have burned. You also need to write down everything you eat and your total caloric intake from those foods.

Make sure to also include periodic weigh-ins. Usually after about 2 or 3 months, most people no longer need to keep a record. It only takes 2 to 3 weeks to make a lifestyle change permanent. By that time, you will have most likely solidified new lifestyle habits that you can continue without the aid of the journal.

If you feel yourself starting to slip, start keeping your journal again. You don’t want all of your efforts to go to waste.

These are just a few things to remember when it comes to breaking bad diet habits. There are more things you need to do of course, but these are most important. The point of these steps is to replace bad habits with good habits for your long term benefit. Be honest with yourself and be diligent. If you start to slip, pick yourself up and get back on the wagon. Don’t waste time and energy beating yourself up or just throwing your hands up on it and saying “Forget it!”