I had a complete “Light Bulb Moment” the other night as I was talking to my BFF. She is trying to lose weight and was asking me for advice. I asked her,”What are the top 2 or 3 habits that are keeping you overweight?”
I explained to her that the things that are keeping me from reaching my goal weight are:
– Snacking in the kitchen when I come home after work/errands
– Eating while I’m cooking/preparing meals
– Snacking after dinner
I think her 2 biggest bad habits are:
– Lack of exercise
– Lack of eating a sufficient breakfast
I believe that if I/she was just able to stop/change these 2 or 3 worst habits it would change our bodies and lives. It seems simple, but have you ever tried to stop biting your nails or quit coffee/smoking/crack? We all know that habits are hard to break! Those bad habits are hard to break because they are doing something for you.
You wouldn’t keep doing something that was only hurting you. If you put your hand on a hot stove and get burnt – you’re not going to do it again because it just hurt. No good came of it. (I actually heard something like this on Oprah years ago.)
Even though my snacking is hurting me by keeping me at a weight I am not happy with, it is also doing something for me. My snacking isn’t like putting my hand on the stove – it does hurts, but it also feels good. The habit in the long run hurts me, but in the short term it: distracts me from doing things I don’t want to do, comforts me, keeps me company, is pleasant, signals that I can relax, tastes good…
So, I need to find another way to get these positive feelings without snacking. I need full permission to relax, find comfort, do something pleasant instead of snacking.
Question: Do you have a bad habit that you feel does something pleasant for you?
Lunch was an effort to use us my veggies before we leave for vaycay – big salad with TJ’s Peanut dressing, topped with a veggie burger. Grapes on the side and can 2 cans of seltzer if I’m being honest 🙂
Kashis on the side for some whole grain goodness 🙂
I think it’s great that I’ve identified what I’m getting out of my bad habits – recognizing the problem is the first step, but now comes the work.
Dieter’s Tools – The Intuitive Eating book says you should get rid of the scale because it’s a “Dieter’s Tool”. While I agree with this in theory I’m not giving up my scale at this point. I weighed in today and the scale hasn’t moved at all in the last three weeks. I’m glad it hasn’t went up! But, I obviously need to work on the habits listed above if I expect to move it down.
And I have not forgotten about Cookie Friday – see you later!
You should add a subscribers section to this blog, I think I’m addicted
That’s a really good way of putting it! I used to be a smoker and stopped because I realized it was reallyreally bad for me. I too am a snacker, but have never once compared it to something like smoking. But, stuffing my hand in the cereal box IS bad for me, and I should quit it just like I did with smoking!
Wow, I just had a “moment.” Thanks!!! 😀
Oh man, it’s so hard to break bad habits! I’m definitely a post-dinner snacker too. Seltzer helps me a lot, actually – I’ll have a can (or 2…) instead of snacks. I’m also trying to eat bigger meals so I won’t be as tempted by the snacks in the house.
I drink diet soda, but I’ve cut down to one can on Friday afternoons with my lunch as a treat. I know the artificial sweeteners are bad for me and I’m doing what I can to stop. Habits are hard to break, but we are the only ones who can break them. I think you’re on track though 🙂
I have a few…
I weigh myself several times a day. I tell myself that it’s comforting to know what my body is doing and how I need to work but really I get upset when it goes up and not down.
I also have a habit of snacking at random times. If I plan what I’m going to eat I’m fine. But if I don’t I just keep grabbing random snacks to fill myself up.
And finally I’m a huge emotional eater. I’ve replaced that some with exercise but when I’m too tired or can’t get in a good enough workout or I’m just too emotional I stuff my face.
If I could over come these I’d probably be able to lose the last 10-15 pounds but I still need to work on them.
Breaking a habit with the scale was hard for me. I was weighing myself all.the.time. At first, I just had my ex hide the scale from me. I had no idea where it was, so I couldn’t use it…but the comfort of knowing it was still in the house was well…comforting.
Once he hid the scale, I never asked for it again, and have never felt the need to weight myself again. My clothes tell the story of where I’m at.
Just as a side note–the number on the scale really doesn’t mean squat anyway. I have been under the impression that my body hasn’t changed at all in the past year. I posted a pic on FB Wednesday (the one that I also posted on my bloggie the other day while I was in the dressing room), and everyone was telling me how awesome I look, and how much WEIGHT I’VE LOST…asking me how I did it.
Dude. I just went to the doctor and got weighed last week. I weigh the exact same thing that I always weigh when I go to the doctor. It never changes. So, it was either the old “muscle weighs more than fat” explanation, a really flattering outfit, or a really great camera angle.
In conclusion…you won’t realize how much you don’t need your scale until you ditch it for good. =) The intuitive eating premise behind getting rid of it is that you know your body well enough to know if you’ve eaten too much ice cream (me), and that you need to substitute fruit for a couple of weeks.
You’ll do it when you’re ready.