Think Before You Eat

think before you eatMindless noshing won’t help your waistline if you’re trying to lose weight.

After pulling out your frozen meal from the microwave oven, you grab a fork, flip on the television and nestle into your favorite nook on the couch. Does this sound like your typical meal routine? If it is, watch out — this routine won’t do anything for your waistline or your well being.

Watching television while eating meals is considered an eating abomination. When you turn on your favorite show, you’re not paying attention to the food that’s going into your body. That means that you typically end up eating far more than you really need. As you continue with this routine, weight gain is sure to follow.

But it’s not only watching television that contributes to mindless eating. Reading newspapers and magazines, playing games on your smart phone, or surfing the Internet while you’re eating are also considered poor eating habits.

Paying attention to what you’re eating is critical. When you do this you focus on the flavors and textures of the food, as well as whether or not they’re actually nourishing you, and not just filing you up. It’s especially important to take a few minutes to register what you’re eating when you’re at a restaurant, as portion sizes have monumentally expanded and some dishes can carry up to a day’s worth of calories. Taking a 30-second pause prior to picking up your fork is the first step in eating less at your meal.

Many people try to blame the food itself for gaining weight, but the real problem is portion sizes. When you don’t pay attention to what you’re consuming, you sometimes eat more than you imagined.

Turning off the television and sitting down at the dining table set with a placemat, napkin and fork, along with a dining companion, will truly transform your health. You will be able to eat your meals without guilt because when you focus on the food in front of you, you’ll eat slower, savoring the flavors and realize sooner that you don’t need as much food as you thought.

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