When you listen to some weightloss gurus, it’s like you have to be always perfectly self-disciplined to be able to drop those excess pounds. Otherwise you are “self-sabotaging”.
https://mitracodel.com/are-you-self-sabotaging/
The problem is, you can’t follow a rigid framework on the long term. Otherwise you will quickly lose your joie de vivre! It doesn’t mean that only food can bring joy into our lives (certainly not!) but food can and should be one of life’s simplest pleasure, if utilized wisely.
So do you have some “bad eating” habits? I certainly do!
Here are some of my bad eating habits:
- I snack in the evening after dinner
- When we eat “raclette (which is basically loads of grilled raclette cheese spilled all over boiled potatoes accompanied with proscuitto Italian ham and salami and other cold meats) I kinda lose my mind and I eat way too much,
- More often than I would admit, I order a chocolate croissant with my medium cappuccino at Starbucks,
- Plus some other bad habits that for the moment I keep to myself 😉
Meanwhile I’ve lost 25 pounds 5 years ago and I was able to keep them off ever since.
Losing weight is not about being perfectly disciplined and following perfect rules (which most of the time are restrictive rules). Losing weight (like everything else in life), is about knowing your circumstances and your flaws and coping with them. And more importantly, not forgetting to keep on the joy! How annoying to follow strict, depriving dieting rules, isn’t it? I’ve never been able to handle a diet plan more than a couple of days.
By the way, if you want to know my thoughts about diet plans, watch this video:
https://mitracodel.com/do-you-need-a-diet-plan-to-lose-weight/
As for my “bad habits” I mentioned above, here is how I handle them:
- When I feel like eating something after dinner, I eat some Greek yoghurt (it’s filling and I like the texture) or a piece of fruit (it can be a clementine, an apple or some strawberries). And if I really feal hungry (because you know, our bodily sensations are not the same every single day), I eat also a banana (because bananas are filling too),
- When we have a raclette dinner party in my house, I just go for it! I really looove raclette even if it’s super caloric (there is a reason why we mostly eat raclette in France during winters!). But I also plan for it: if I know we will have a raclette dinner (like this upcoming Saturday night), I eat more lightly that day during the day or even the day before,
- I always carry with me a packet of thin and crispy white chocolate chip cookies. And when I drink a cappuccino, I eat one (only one) of them. Notice I didn’t say I carry everywhere some baby carrots! I still eat cookies. But with moderation. And the one I’ve chosen. Because I know that chocolate croissants are way more caloric. But I sometimes just want a chocolate croissant, and I order one with my cappuccino. And I savor it, I don’t feel guilty!
I want eating to remain a pleasure. And it truly is for me. If I indulge in some food, I don’t feel guilty, I don’t beat myself up. I savor it. But I also try to be mindful of what I eat.
Losing weight doesn’t require being perfect, having a perfect life and tons of self-discipline. Losing weight is about undertake some lifestyle changes and maintaining them in the long haul.
Now your turn! What are some of your “bad eating” habits? And how do you handle them? Or maybe I can offer a piece of advice about them? Comment below and let me know.