If you are at a plateau and are feeling like you want to throw in the towel, consider this….

1.  Has your exercise regimen improved? Try keeping an exercise log and witness, on paper, how your fitness has grown.

2.  Has your mood improved? Try keeping a log of how you are feeling emotionally.  It can be a simple symbol on your calendar or a paragraph of your day.

3.  Has your sleep improved?  A good night’s rest can mean more than any chocolate eclair can taste.

4.  Has your energy level improved?  Remind yourself of all those slumps throughout the day you experienced in the past.  The 3:00 pm low that a cup of coffee or a Snickers bar pulled you through.

5.  Have your food cravings lessened?  Or better yet, do you think about a crisp apple now like you use to about that bag of Doritos?  I suspect you are pleased to be fueling your body with healthy fare.

6.  Have your blood values improved? Has your blood pressure gone down? Have your anxiety levels reduced? Has your sex drive increased? Is your foggy mind now clearing?

There are so many ways we can measure the success of improved eating without stepping on the scale.  Think outside the box (or the scale) the next time you wonder if eating regularly spaced, moderate portioned, and wide variety meals are “worth” it.

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To get a better handle on understanding eating habits for weight loss, I started with a book I heard about on NPR which was written by New York Times business writer Charles Duhigg called, the Power of Habit.  His book explores the science behind why we do what we do.   Neuroscientists have traced our habit-making behaviors to a part of the brain called the basal ganglia, which also plays a key role in the development of emotions, memories and pattern recognition. Decisions are made in a different part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. As soon as a behavior becomes automatic, the decision-making part of the brain goes into a sleep mode of sorts.  Parallel parking, exercising, brushing your teeth and every other habit-forming activity all follow the same behavioral and neurological patterns.
Exploring the intricacies of habit formations are also the specialty of a team of neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). According to their research, the habit creating process in the brain can be viewed as a “three-step loop.” The forming of a new habit requires:

1. a cue that triggers the brain to go into automatic mode,
2. a routine or automatic reaction that follows in response, and
3. a reward, which also helps the brain to decide whether a particular experience is worth remembering for the future.

Over time, this loop – or cue, routine, and reward – becomes more and more automatic and neurologically intertwined. The results can range from a simple tendency to cravings to a full-blown addiction.

Here’s an example of a 3-step loop and how it can affect the formation of a new eating habit for weight loss:
After work (cue) , you arrive to your Salt Lake City home and reach into the freezer and pull out the ice cream (action) and you sit and lose yourself in the cool, sweet taste of your favorite ice cream and forget about the bad day you had at work (reward). What exactly turns an event into a cue and what constitutes a reward depends on the individual as well as the situation.
Studies have shown that people will perform automated behaviors — like pulling into the driveway— the same way if they’re in the same environment. But if they take a vacation, it’s likely that the behavior will change. That’s one of the reasons that taking a vacation is so relaxing: It helps break certain habits.

Needless to say, the cue (pulling into the driveway after work) is where the change has to begin. Now that you are on a weight loss regimen, you have to find a way to interrupt what the M.I.T. scientists identified as your “loop.” Instead of continuing to expose yourself to the cue that will inevitably trigger your routine response, you have to plan something else after work.  Stop at the park and walk for 10 minutes while listening to your favorite music on your iPod. It may take several months until you are able to come home without heading for the freezer – but eventually you will succeed. Just how will you succeed? Your cue is still there, but you have developed a different routine in response. The long term reward is self mastery and a thinner physique.

The good news as Duhigg puts it is that, “Habits aren’t destiny,” “They can be ignored, changed or replaced.” The bad news is that old eating habits die hard and never fully disappear.  They can rear their ugly heads at any time and really mess with your weight loss plans. To help you with this daunting task, I have collected several ideas for you to think about and try on one of those pesky habits you are trying to rid yourself of.  Start with something small. Many of these ideas come from Steve Pavlina, a self-help author and motivational speaker.  Check out his website http://www.stevepavlina.com/.

Eleven Ideas for Sustainable Eating Habits for Weight Loss
Create a Trigger – A trigger (or cue) is a short ritual you perform before a habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier this might mean jumping out of bed as soon as you hear the sound of your alarm. If you wanted to stop smoking this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a cigarette. A trigger helps condition a new pattern more consistently.

Replace Lost Needs – You obviously get something (rewards) out of your deeply ingrained habits so you will have to find an alternative. You can’t just get rid of habits without replacing the needs they fulfill. Giving up television might mean you need to find a new way to relax, socialize or receive information.

One Habit at a Time – Try not to change too many things at one time.  A month may seem like a long time to focus on only one change, but trying to change more than a few habits at a time could be confusing. Pick the one that is going to give you the most bang for your buck. Your successful outcome will stir you to tackle the next one more easily.

Balance Feedback – Listen to reason. If your change creates more pain in your life than joy, it is going to be hard to stick to. Don’t go to the gym if you hate it. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines that are more to your liking and support your uniqueness.

Kill Bad Thoughts –Anytime you feel yourself thinking negatively about yourself, use the word “but” and point out positive aspects. “I’m lousy at this job – but – if I keep at it I can probably improve.”

Write it Down – Don’t leave commitments in your brain. Write them on paper. This does two things: first, it creates clarity by defining in specific terms what your change means, and second, it keeps you committed to breaking the habit since it is easy to dismiss a thought, but harder to dismiss a promise printed in front of you. Put these papers on your fridge, in your card, and on your office desk.

30, 90, 365 Day Rule – I’d like to say most habits go through a series of checkpoints in terms of conditioning. The first is at thirty days. Here it doesn’t require willpower to continue your change, but problems might offset it. At ninety days any change should be neutral where running the habit is no more difficult than not running it. At one year it is generally harder not to run the habit than to continue with it. Be patient and run habits through the three checkpoints to make them stick.

Get Leverage – Give a buddy a hundred bucks with the condition to return it to you only when you’ve completed thirty days without fail. Make a public commitment to everyone you know that you’re going to stick with it. Offer yourself a reward if you make it a month. Anything to give yourself that extra push. Not only does it create accountability on your end (the heaviness of living up to expectations is a massive motivator for taking the right action) but it also gives you that “ra-ra” pat on the rear just when you need it.

Keep It Simple – Your change should involve one or two rules, not a dozen. Exercising once per day for at least thirty minutes is easier to follow than exercising Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with yoga the first day and mountain biking the third day, except when it is raining in which case you will do… what? Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.

Consistency Is Key – The point of a habit is that it doesn’t require thought. Variety may be the spice of life, but it doesn’t create habits. Make sure your habit is as consistent as possible and is repeated every day for thirty days. This will ensure a new habit is drilled in, instead of multiple habits loosely conditioned.

Experiment – You can’t know whether a different habit will work until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find ones that suit you. Don’t try to follow habits because you should, but because you’ve tested them and they work in your life.

The post Eating Habits for Weight Loss: The Power of Habit appeared first on Innovative Nutritionist.

Portion control– The super-sized world we now live in has enabled us to pack the pounds on.  It is important to realize that you control what goes in your mouth.

Order the smallest and plainest foods on the menu

Select off the child’s menu

Share an entree with a friend

Buy portion controlled packaging

Be mentally prepared at buffets and potlucks – and Costco

Use smaller plates, cups and bowls

Measure the food you put on your plate for one week

Distractions– Eating amnesia is the act of unconsciously putting food in our mouth while doing other things. Make it a point to sit down and enjoy your meal, slow down and taste the food and feel the texture. Take time to admire the effort put into the preparation and presentation of the food you eat.

Never eat in front of the television, computer or while reading

Never eat in the car

Never eat while on the phone

When you’re eating — particularly when you’re snacking — leave out candy wrappers, peanut shells and other evidence of snacking so that your eyes can warn you about how much you have eaten

Chew gum while preparing dinner or other dangerous times

Eat only while sitting down with food served onto a plate

Availability– In cave man days, man had to work for his meal. Today you can obtain fast food from vending machines, drive through restaurants, and hotel mini-bars.  We find food in our office break rooms, gas stations, hair salons, and church functions.  Wage a war on the mindless grazing.

Keep dangerous foods out of your house

Fill individual plates at the stove, and leave the leftovers in the kitchen

With snack foods, pour a serving into a bowl rather than eating straight from the bag

Keep food off your desk at work

Keep food off kitchen counters

Make your car a food free zone

Planning- If there is not a healthy choice available, you will reach for what is handy. If you stock your pantry with only healthy, and convenient ingredients you can’t go wrong.

Spend a few minutes listening to relaxing music while cutting up vegetables for the week

Keep fresh fruits, low-fat yogurt, and cottage cheese available for quick snacks on the front of the shelves in the fridge

Keep on hand a good supply of whole grains, dried fruits and nuts, air-popped popcorn, rice cakes low sodium vegetable and bean soups, to incorporate into quick and  healthy meals or snacks.

Habits-  Highly palatable foods that contain sugar, fat, and salt are very reinforcing because they activate the reward center of the brain. The more you reach for these foods, the stronger the pull.  The goal is to change how you view food. You have to take the power out of the food by changing how you feel about it.  It’s all about learning new habits to replace the old habits.

Create new memories of enjoying healthy food.    What does a juicy strawberry actually taste like?

Eat when your body tells you to instead of what your clock is saying

Eat when you are hungry only. Food cannot fill an emotional hole

Eat slowly.

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