Shine a Light on Healthy Eating Habits

Health habits, a subject which is not talked about nor appreciated.

If anybody wants to find the answer to weight loss, then here is where we need to start.

The reality is, we are constantly bombarded with news bits of weight loss information, commercials, advice, and even professional opinion, but none seem to hit the mark.

We do not even know what the mark is.

What is the mark, what should we be concerned about, what should our goals be?

Let us start a hierarchy:

• Health
• Fitness
• leanness
• Mental health
• Relationship health
• Decreases stress

Funny but good looks are not there, trendy is not there, most popular is not there.

Shine a Light on Healthy Eating Habits

For a person to feel like their life is progressing, having a positive beginning means parents that instill in us good habits:

• Good eating habits
• Health habits
• Wellness habits
• Relationship habits

Let talk a little about good eating habits.

Good eating habits mean:

• Eating meals at the proper time every time
• Eating at the same spot
• Not overeating
• Not having snacks
• Not drinking alcohol excessively
• Not eating while being entertained by something else besides our family
• Making proper meals
• Storing foods for later times
• Packaging the food with the right portions
• Not eating too many sweets.
• Staying away from trendy drinks

We understood that eating away from home is a luxury that should only happen once in a while. Eating away from home tests our good eating habits and should not be considered a casual little affair. Celebrating Thanksgiving is excellent, but we should be in control of how much and what we eat. Holidays are not excuses, and we should not exceed our celebrations by having excessive food. Not at our families or during another friend’s house, celebrating one day before or a few days before and same with a few days after.

We do not need to be drinking several evenings with our friends, celebrating whatever team just won, and then another event.

Be wary of the monthly potlucks at work or the 2-3 celebrations per month for whatever reason. Yes, all of these events are social events, and people are involved, and we have a reason to be there, but it does not give us the excuse to overeat or overdrink.

It might not seem to you like much of a change from your every day. Still, it is a change that adds to the number of calories we take in. Once we start to lose our discipline at one thing, we lose our discipline at other things.

I know we do not want to be the stick-in-the-mud person that does not loosen up and relax and enjoy the event. Still, we need to be more in tune with all of the events around us and make decisions and stand by them.

I don’t mean to tell you to refuse the social gatherings; I suggest you make sure that when you are in one of those gatherings where food is abundant, you stick to your eating plan, whatever that plan is.

It is my advice to have a “Holiday/PotLuck Strategy.”

Eat before you go to the gathering but do not overeat. Make sure you are not starving and ready to devour anything. Decide that you will have one and only one plate of food and one drink.

As time progresses, refine your “Holiday/PotLuck Strategy.”

You might be the type that might need to have two meals before the celebration or no meals; you will find out this by trial and error.

This approach will keep you in check and not let you go overboard.

The way I deal with big even meals, of which it would almost be a shame not eating a lot of everything, is that I do not have breakfast. I do have one meal before the event. I do not want to be starving before a potluck. When I take a plate, I only take small portions of different things and eat just what is on that plate. I hate to waste food, so I am picky with what I put on my plate. I might try something new, but if I do not like it, do not throw away, and I eat it. If I have seconds, I make sure I try small portions again to try different dishes.

Later on in the evening, I might have a snack and tee. I feel fully satisfied that I partake in a meal with friends and enjoy it thoroughly but did not put my body in an uncomfortable position.

Sometimes people look at me while I am at a social event with lots of food and eat a great deal; most people think that I usually eat like this all the time. At this particular time, they see me having more than an average meal trying different things. Being that I am relatively slim, people only see this and think that I, overall, eat like this all the time, and they can not figure out why I am still thin. They do not notice that my daily intake is standard and that this is just an event, and that I probably will not eat anything else that day.

If you look at me and see me eating in one of those events, you might be a little confused and would love to find out my “secret’ to staying slim. The secrete is and everyday good eating habits, not an exaggerated portion all of the time.