EATING AND DIET: 10 DECEPTIVE HABITS

Don’t sabotage your diet; decide with determination to MODIFY YOUR HABITS.

The main goal of a healthy, intelligent diet is to achieve a balanced body, which implies looking and feeling good both physically and psychologically.

Your diet is not just affected by eating too many calories; you may have some deceptive daily habits that affect the road to better nutrition and a more desirable weight.

There are certain minor but important customs that act as enemies against a healthy lifestyle and eating plan. Some of the habits that should be modified are:

1. Eating and laying down. Move around! In order for your body to use and burn the calories you’ve eaten, some kind of movement is necessary after eating.  For this reason eating late at night and going to bed immediately afterwards is not recommended.

2. Eliminating breakfast. In order to reduce their calorie intake many people choose not to eat breakfast, but at the end of the day they eat more because of this, unwillingly slowing their metabolism down and making it even more difficult to lose weight. Breakfast is the primary source of fuel for daily activities – don’t eliminate it.

3. Eating too many snacks. This is a risk especially for office jobs where different snacks are available (cookies, chocolates, etc.) for taking the edge off hunger.  Look for options that follow your eating plan and take your snack breaks at proper times.

4. Cheating on quantity. Some foods are high in calories and eating small amounts does not mean you’ll gain less weight.  The point is to choose both proper foods and quantities.

5. Eating little fruit. A healthy eating plan should contain at least two fruits per day.

6. Eating fish and chicken…but fried. These are friends of any eating plan, since they are healthy foods.  The way they are cooked can limit their benefits, so it is important to cook them in the oven, on the grill, boiled, in a pan, etc. – but not fried!

7. Eating for emotional reasons.  Sadness or depression can cause you to eat badly or more.  If this happens, choose healthy snacks and look for a source of relaxation and distraction to unburden your feelings, such as meditation or exercise.

8. Eating a lot of salt. Excess salt intake causes water retention, so if you season your foods well, you can take the saltshaker off the table!

9. Walking or doing little exercise.  Many people walk a few meters or a little more than normal and feel they’ve already done their necessary exercise.  Not true.  A half-hour a day is the ideal minimum.

10. Drinking too much wine.  Wine isn’t bad, but you should remember that the maximum consumption is 30 ml a day, and this is not accumulative.  It should go hand-in-hand with a healthy eating plan and exercise.

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