Three Really Bad Eating Habits

There are many bad eating habits out there, but three of them make the top of my list: portion distortion, distracted eating, and skipping meals.
I personally don’t know if one is worst than the other.
Truth is, if you have any of those three you better make sure to break them as soon as you can, because they might compromise your health!



Portion distortion

When eating out, it’s pretty easy to notice that lately portion sizes have gotten larger.
And many studies have concluded that individuals rely on a visual point–of–reference for cessation; meaning that if one is faced with a big portion of food, he/she will continue to eat until there’s no more food left in the plate.
This leads to consuming more calories than actually needed.
But, let’s not blame it always on the others (i.e., restaurants), also at home one can cook more food than necessary.
And since you don’t want leftovers in the fridge it's likely that you’re going to eat the whole portion.
So what can you do about it?
When eating out (or ordering in) a good idea is to split food with a friend. Alternatively, eat only part of your food, and bring the rest home with you in a take-home box.
When you’re at home, serve food on individual plates instead of keeping serving dishes on the table. And cook little portion of foods!

Distracted eating

It’s easy to overeat when your attention is focused on something else. In particular, when you’re bored and have nothing else to do, trips to the fridge or cupboard are often too common.
Eating too fast is another common form of distracted eating (one that I know too well) and one that leads inevitably to overeating.
Last, but not least, eating in front of the TV (or of the computer), is by far the most “popular” form of distracted eating known today.
What’s the solution? First off, eat when you’re really hungry and supposed to eat (i.e., breakfast, lunch and dinner). Sit at the table and enjoy the whole eating experience.
If you’re big on snacking remember to choose small and healthy snacks.

Skipping meals

When you skip a meal, your blood sugar is affected, and not it a good way.
Low blood sugar means, among other things, feelings of fatigue or (more likely) food cravings. And once you have food cravings you’re likely to overeat (and, well, that’s almost a certainty).
Whether you eat three meals daily, or five/six small meals during the day, check-in with your hunger, and prevent it when it becomes too late. Snacks can be a great way to prevent hunger but, again, choose small and healthy ones. This becomes even more true when you’re on the go.

Considerations

In the battle between bigger portions, skipping meals and distracted eating, I personally don’t believe that there is a clear winner.
Those are three very bad and common habits. And if you check with yourself you might find that you might have one of them (if not more).
If so, try very hard to break them as soon as you can. It’ll be harder than you expect but you can certainly do it!

The Iron You