how do i become more aware of what i'm eating?

atsyed87
atsyed87 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
i've been working really hard lately to figure out my "mental blocks" when it comes to health and diet, and i think a big part of my problem is that i just eat without thinking. it's such a long-established pattern of mine that i do things without even realizing! yeah, it's stupid, but half the time i don't even notice i'm doing something stupid or eating something bad for me until it's too late (say, i've ordered it from a restaurant, or in some cases, already eaten it).

does anyone else have (or had) a similar problem, and how did you solve it?

Replies

  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    I log everything I eat which was a big eye opener for myself, and made me become more aware of what I was eating. I always log my food BEFORE I eat it as well, like I try to plan my entire day and log it all at once in the morning so I know what is within my calorie goal.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    it will get easier once you get used to doing it. Until then, just stop what you are doing once you remember it (usually about halfway through the meal) and log it then from memory and just do the best you can to remember. All of this is estimation anyways, so don't beat yourself up about being off a little - just estimate a little on the worst case side.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    Maybe you should try pre-logging your food for a few days and see how that works out for you.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Log every morsel that passes your lips. Pack your lunches and take them to work with you eliminating the likelihood you're going to head to the Golden Arches. Plan you meals and shop just for what you plan on eating, don't keep junk food around the house.

    It takes some effort but you can re-train your brain.
  • dmbgoral
    dmbgoral Posts: 27
    I try to figure out ahead of time what I'll be eating for the day and log it all in the am.
  • EEpling89
    EEpling89 Posts: 152
    I'm glad someone finally is paying attention to this! I've been losing weight and breaking out of the diet-binge cycle by eating WHATEVER I want but by eating it mindfully, only when I'm truly hungry, and stopping when I'm truly full.

    Some strategies that have worked for me, absolute number one is to eat VERY slowly and start eating as soon as your stomach starts rumbling. If you wait any longer, you will be famished and will want to shovel everything down quickly. Take a bite, set your fork down, take a sip of water, and ask yourself, am I full? If not, how hungry am I? Repeat until you're full. You can always put the rest of your food away and eat it later.
    Also, if I'm at a restaurant or something, I'll divide my food into 4-6 smaller portions and ask for a takeout box right away. Then, I'll start into one portion and go through this process. If I finish the first portion and I'm still hungry, I'll put another of the smaller portions on my plate and begin again. I do this because we're often conditioned to eat everything that's on the plate instead of the amount our bodies really need.

    If you're truly honest with yourself, this really works and you can eat delicious foods you love. If you listen to your body and give it what it's truly asking for and the amount that it's asking for, you'll never have a weight problem. You'll be surprised at how little food you really want if you're listening to your internal cues.

    I'm still struggling with not eating emotionally but I'm making improvements every day. Good luck! :)
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Start to do a couple of things:

    1. Read labels on packaged food so you get familiar with the nutrients
    2. Start to weigh and measure your food at home so you begin to recognize how much 4 ounces are or what a half cup of something looks like.
    3. Stop eating blindly. This will happen as you do numbers 1 and 2
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    logging everything is what really did it for me. Also, measuring portion sizes. Two big wake up calls that I wasnt necessarily just eating the wrong things, but insane portions.
  • hosegirl
    hosegirl Posts: 157
    We all did this or still do this. It is a habit. It takes at least 6 weeks to break a habit. I started with just planning meals/snacks for one day and loggin that into MFP. I was surprised at what I was eating and what equate to in calories, and fat. Us recording your food intake as a guide. I also started looking up online different resturants calorie counts for meals. this helped when we would go out to eat. I stop eating in out cafeteria. It is amazing what they were selling as healthy but the sodium and processed foods whre incredible. They add up. left overs from home make a difference in calorie count as well as speding less on lunch every week.
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
    As others mentioned, logging everything helps. Ever since I started logging, every time I consider what to eat I think about what impact it will have on my calorie goal here on MFP.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I had the exact same problem. When I first started I just ate normally and tracked everything. I was topping out around 2700 calories of mostly junk. After I had tracked for a few days I had something to go by so that I could see where and what my issues were.

    I bought a food scale so that I could accurately figure out how much I was actually eating since the amount listed on packages can be wrong (and I have found that it is quite often!)For restaurants I normally try to go to chains that I know will have their nutritional information listed either here or on their own websites and if they do not then I try to find something similar elsewhere and use that instead.

    These days I will PRE-log everything. I make my breakfast and lunches for work the night before and also log my walk to and from work and my bike ride after so I know exactly what I have left for dinner. If I am low then I know I can go get a bagel or something at the cafeteria if I am feeling extra hungry.
  • atsyed87
    atsyed87 Posts: 6
    I'm glad someone finally is paying attention to this! I've been losing weight and breaking out of the diet-binge cycle by eating WHATEVER I want but by eating it mindfully, only when I'm truly hungry, and stopping when I'm truly full.

    Some strategies that have worked for me, absolute number one is to eat VERY slowly and start eating as soon as your stomach starts rumbling. If you wait any longer, you will be famished and will want to shovel everything down quickly. Take a bite, set your fork down, take a sip of water, and ask yourself, am I full? If not, how hungry am I? Repeat until you're full. You can always put the rest of your food away and eat it later.
    Also, if I'm at a restaurant or something, I'll divide my food into 4-6 smaller portions and ask for a takeout box right away. Then, I'll start into one portion and go through this process. If I finish the first portion and I'm still hungry, I'll put another of the smaller portions on my plate and begin again. I do this because we're often conditioned to eat everything that's on the plate instead of the amount our bodies really need.

    If you're truly honest with yourself, this really works and you can eat delicious foods you love. If you listen to your body and give it what it's truly asking for and the amount that it's asking for, you'll never have a weight problem. You'll be surprised at how little food you really want if you're listening to your internal cues.

    I'm still struggling with not eating emotionally but I'm making improvements every day. Good luck! :)

    thanks so much--these suggestions are great!
  • atsyed87
    atsyed87 Posts: 6
    thanks to everyone for all the feedback--totally forgot i even posted this! it was so nice to come back and see so many supportive messages. with all this in mind, i'll definitely be:

    1. slowing down how quickly i eat
    2. logging EVERYTHING... been already trying to do this but haven't been perfect
    3. pre-logging my meals (what a good idea)
    4. be mindful of portion sizes

    thanks so much everyone.

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