weight loss - ways to avoid mindless eating

Do you find yourself constantly munching on something? Is eating a routine part of driving? Are snacks constantly at your side while you watch TV? Do you habitually buy a particular treat or beverage every time you go to a certain store or location? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," you are more likely than not participating in mindless eating!

Mindless eating can become a very dangerous habit if you do not address the problem right away. What I am referring to here is the habit of eating whenever you are around food, whether or not you are actually hungry. You must think about whether you are a social eater, have a family situation that encourages overeating, or if you just enjoy food a little bit too much for your own good.

What is mindless eating?

When you're not fully engaged in what you're eating, you are starting to eat mindlessly. If the TV is on, you're sitting at your computer, or even driving, you have stopped being in control of the food you eat. The notion of grabbing a 'quick bite' is also a sign that your brain has turned off to the food in your life.

Why do we eat mindlessly?

Mindless eating will occur for many reasons. It is common today for individuals to eat at their desk, in their car or at a multitude of different events. When you eat when participating in another activity you aren't paying attention to the food, but more likely are paying attention to the activity. Simply having a conversation at the dinner table may be a distraction that creates overeating for you. That, of course, is a wonderful part of meal time - enjoying time with family and friends - but understanding the mindless eating that may be occurring will help you to increase your mindfulness for your good health and for your waistline.

ways to stop mindless eating

• Eat with your eyes, ears, nose, mouth and tongue. What I am really saying is use all of your senses when you eat. This is a fantastic way to get yourself to eat mindfully. At your next meal take a minute before you eat to look at your food and notice it's aroma. Then bite into it and listen to the sound it makes and focus in on how it feels in your mouth and then you can take a moment to notice how it tastes.

•  Avoid getting too hungry. When you are overly hungry you are much more vulnerable to mindlessly grabbing whatever food is available. A great way to avoid hunger is to plan and eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day and if you miss a meal be sure to have a healthy snack handy, a low-fat cheese stick or a small baggie with assorted nuts will work well.

•  Keep a food journal. Record absolutely everything that goes into your mouth. Even if it's just two Smarties that managed to find their way to your lips (those sneaky Smarties!), write it down. As insignificant as a small morsel of food may be, tracking it creates awareness of the food you eat.

•  Plan each meal ahead of time. Don't leave anything to chance. Plan absolutely each meal and snack that day. If you're going to be out for the afternoon, plan where you'll be going for lunch and what you're going to order.

•  Make sure that everything and anything you eat is from your own plate or bowl. This is a simple way to eliminate 'opportunity eating'- eating just because food is in front of you. This also means you'll say good bye to taking a few handfuls of chips from the bowl on the coffee table or eating appies straight from the tray. Instead, you are forced to portion out a serving on a plate so you're aware of how much you are consuming.

• Don't put large portions on your plate. The more food you see on your plate the greater the tendency to eat all of it. Better to go back for seconds than to overfill your plate.

• When eating out avoid buffets. We tend to load our plate up with too much food and often with unhealthy foods. And of course we eat it because it's there.

•  The best way to avoid these kinds of situations is to plan your meals the day before, including your snacks. Try to eat on a schedule if possible. If you are the type of person who gets so busy you forget to eat, then scheduled meals will remind you it is time to feed your body. If you have a budget, you can avoid impulse buying and if you have an eating plan for the day you can avoid impulse eating.

Mindless eating has been compared to eating amnesia. If you sit down with a bottomless amount of food and you find it's all gone, you've got eating amnesia. Many people find that they have eating amnesia in the evenings, particularly after dinner and while watching television. If you have found this is a problem for you, you can actively work to avoid packing on the pounds in this manner.

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