|
Weight Loss and the
|
 |
...eat something in the car for lunch...
...grab something from the vending machine in the afternoon...
...oh and the candy in the co-worker's dish looks pretty good, so have a handful...
...every time you pass the dish...
...grab handfuls of chips while you wait for dinner...
Sound familiar? I like to call this a "fast food lifestlyle." You may not be frequenting fast food restaurants per se, but grabbing food whenever and wherever you want - with no rhyme or rhythm to your choices - is haphazard and a common weight loss pitfall.
It's hard to know what and how much you've eaten when you engage in the grabby fast food lifestyle.
I know...
...you have a busy schedule, work long hours, and maybe even juggle a few kids' sports schedules, so there's no time to do meal planning in advance.
But eating anything at anytime is chaotic eating. It can and will undermine your weight loss efforts.
Don't worry, weekly menu planning isn't a necessity, but having some intention behind when and what you eat is.
How to Remedy A Haphazard, Chaotic, "Fast Food Lifestyle"
Establish a regular pattern of eating.
It's really that simple. Plan to eat within 1 hour of waking and continue to eat every 3-4 hours thereafter. Go as far as planning the general times that you will eat. Doing so is like setting up little stepping stones to get you through the day:
|
- 6:00 a.m. Breakfast
- 9:00 a.m. Snack
- 12:00 noon Lunch
- 3:00 p.m. Snack
- 7:00 p.m. Dinner
Then, just stick to your schedule!
You may be tempted to grab some candy from the candy dish at 2:00, but if you know you have a planned snack coming up at 3:00, it's easier to bypass the candy.
So you see, healthy eating and losing weight involve making decisions not only about what you will eat, but when you will eat.
Make sure there is a planned pattern to your eating! Then once you establish it, repeat it daily!
Does your fast food lifestyle include eating fast food? See my recommendations for "the best of the worst."
The weight loss section.
Back to Personal Nutrition Guide Home.
