Behavior Modification
Habits, good or bad, are formed by repetition. Eating habits are no
exception. If you are in the habit of snacking when you watch TV, you
were reinforcing that habit until finally it became a part of you. Other
habits are formed in the same way. Some of these habits are: eating
while reading, eating the minute you come in the house, eating when the
kids come in from school, eating when you come in from a date, or eating
while cooking dinner.
We also find that certain moods and circumstances cause us to eat
even if we are not hungry. For example: anger, boredom, fatigue,
happiness, loneliness, the kids are finally in bed, our spouse is out
for the evening or out of town, nervousness, anxiety, our spouse brings
home candy or ice cream, etc… all may trigger an eating response. The
list is endless. Habits are hard to break. We must not only break old
habits, but we must make our goal to form new ones in the same manner
through repetition. Make some daily commitments. Work to meet these
commitments each day whether you feel like it or not. Your daily
commitments will help you form good habits. Remember: “It is easier to
act your way into a new way of feeling than it is to feel your way into a
new way of acting.”
Resisting temptation is difficult. However, if you succeed in
resisting the first time, it becomes easier to resist the next time.
Before long, you will have formed the good habit of resisting temptation
every time it confronts you. If you yield to that temptation, you will
find it easier to yield the next time.
Because of the human weaknesses mentioned, we must use what has
become known among weight control groups as behavior modification. It
simply means changing your behavior. These techniques work only if you
consistently repeat them, so that they become a part of you.
NEW HABITS
- Eat three meals a day. Have two or three planned snacks daily.
- Prolong your meals by: eating slowly putting down your eating
utensil between each bite do not pick up your eating utensil until you
have swallowed the bite hesitating between bites, even if you’re eating
finger foods
- Choose a specific place in your home or office to eat all of your
meals. This will become your “designated eating place” and should not be
changed. Try not to eat at your desk at work. This would make you prone
to eat all day long and not just at meal time.lowed the bite hesitating
between bites, even if you’re eating finger foods
- Do not do anything except eat when you sit down for a meal. Do not
read, watch TV, talk on the phone, work, etc. Make yourself aware of the
food you are eating. Focus on the conversation and enjoy your meal.
- Do not keep food in any room in your house except the kitchen. Do
not keep food such as cookies out on the counters. Do not store items in
“see-through” containers.
- Do not buy junk food. Neither your mate nor your children needs it.
- If possible, serve individual plates from the stove and do not serve
family style on the table. If this is not possible, put the serving
dishes on the opposite end of the table.
- Serve yourself on a smaller plate.
- Develop a habit of leaving at least one bite of each item on your
plate. If you can master this, it becomes easier to stop eating when you
feel full. You will be used to leaving food on your plate.
All of the above are eating techniques that aid in behavior
modification. Other behavior modification techniques not related to
eating are to substitute activity for eating, which means exactly what
it says– substitute another activity for between meal snacking. If you
are in the habit of going straight to the kitchen and eating every time
you walk in the house, try to change this habit by going to another room
of the house when you come home. Delay going into the kitchen until the
desire to eat is gone. When you are tempted to eat, try to use one of
the following substitute activities:
- Take a walk
- Take a long bath
- Call a friend
- Get out of the house
- Write a letter
- Read a book
Or busy yourself with a hobby such as:
- Cross-stitch
- Painting
- Floral arranging
- Ceramics
- Wood working
- Gardening
- Genealogical research
- Sports
- Surf the Web
- Catch up on your email!!!
Contributed by Skip.