Ate too much over Christmas? A dietitian offers health and nutrition tips to get your weight under control in the New Year.
With hectic end-of-year work deadlines and non-stop socialising,healthy eatingcan easily fall by the wayside as we adopt an eat-on-the-run December policy.
Shame then that by the time you arrive at your summer beach holiday, a pesky little bulge or disgruntled belly might be making itself known.
Overeating is almost as much of a Christmas tradition as presents. (Getty)
Get over it
A little bit of self-love can go a long way when recovering from a binge.
“Don’t beat yourself up if you feel you ate more than you should have or gained a few kilos over Christmas,” Gawthorne says. “This will create stress within your body and can lead to emotional eating.”
You can’t change the past, so Gawthorne suggests focusing on the fun memories you created.
“Think of it as a time you enjoyed food and fun times with family and friends,” she says. “Now it’s time to re-focus your mindset and form new healthy habits.”
“Even if it’s a bit of chocolate, you might say, ‘It’s going to give me some endorphins’ and ‘It’s going to taste absolutely beautiful’,” Di Prima says.
“Or if you are having a coffee, you might say, ‘It’s a calcium-rich dairy food so it’s good for my bones, and it’s got protein, which will sustain me, and the caffeine will get me through my meeting this morning.'”
Gawthorne says ultimately you want to reduce your consumption of empty calories as much as possible.
“‘Empty calories’refers to foods that are high in calories but are low in essential nutrients and have little or no nutritional value,” Gawthorne explains.
“These foods are often heavily processed with many additives that we don’t require in our diets.”
We’re looking at you: soft drink, alcohol, cordial, energy drinks, biscuits, sweets, pastries, processed meats and deep-fried takeaway foods.
Find two good reasons to actually eat what you’re looking to. (Getty)
Go the long haul
Make 2022 the year that you forget about fads and fasts and make healthy eating a simple, non-negotiable part of your life.
“Instead of going on another juice cleanse or fad diet, make simple, healthy changes that you will be able to sustain,” Gawthorne says.
“That might mean something like reducing your portion sizes at dinner.”
Get moving
A beach walk, bush hike or surfboard paddle on your Christmas holiday will not just help shift excess weight but will also clear your head to help you make better food choices.
“Exercise is essential for weight loss and health,” Gawthorne says.
“For weight loss, you should be exercising daily.”
Share your leftovers
If your kitchen cupboards are brimming with leftover chocolate and shortbread, then re-gift them or send them home with your visitors.
“There is no point keeping foods that are going to provide no nutritional benefit to you and will simply make your weight loss efforts more difficult,” Gawthorne says.
“If you were gifted soft drink, alcohol, chocolate or biscuits that are too tempting to keep in the house, give them away or throw them out.”
In the long term, those (extremely conservative) numbers add up to big fat gains. Christmas foods are high-calorie and we eat a lot of them — so some hard work is needed to burn them off. Keep reading to find out just how much work.
Chances are you have beeneatinga lot more than you usually would during the festive season, and indeedChristmas Dayitself is likely to translate into a complete calorie overload.
To put things into perspective, the average Christmas Day feast of a roast dinner along with wine, canapé, cheese, dessert and a few Christmas chocolates is equivalent to at least 3000 calories, or up to double that required by a small female each day.
This is the simple reason we feel so sick by early evening after a big day of eating. So here are some easy ways to help buffer the impact of overeating to help you minimise feelings of digestive discomfort over the festive season.
Susie Burrell suggests eating light in the days leading up to and after your Christmas feast. (iStock)
In preparation
One of the easiest ways you can prepare for a couple of days of eating is to eat lightly the day or two before Christmas, and schedule in plenty of exercise.
Start the day with a walk, and seek out lighter meals of salads, fruit and seafood. Not only will this help you to rid any fluid you have been carrying, but the extra calorie burn will help to give your metabolism a hit.
Another dietary strategy that can work well at this time is to include an extended 14 to 16 hour fast as part of your daily food routine. Here there is no need to restrict calories, rather limit the number of meals you enjoy each day which gives the body time to digest everything you have consumed in between larger meals.
Immediately after eating
With an hour or two of eating a larger meal, you are likely to feel slightly short of breath as your full stomach — remember your stomach is only a little larger than a fist — pushes up into your diaphragm, limiting your lung capacity. It is for this reason that sitting down after a big meal is the worst thing you can do, rather moving around, keeping on your feet or even going for a walk will be the best thing you can do to reduce abdominal discomfort.
If your Christmas Day feasting continues over several days, limiting the number of meals you enjoy each day will be the best way to avoid the experience of gross overconsumption. (Getty)
Before bed
Once the initial stages of digestion are completed, next you are likely to be greeted with some abdominal discomfort, gas and bloating. While you may not feel like eating, drinking plenty of water or herbal tea like peppermint or green tea will help to move food and fluid through the digestive tract.
Light foods with a high-water content including celery, cucumber, berries, stone fruit and watermelon will too, help to rid the body of extra fluid and are smart, light options to enjoy later on Christmas Day.
The morning after
One of the most common mistakes we make after eating too much is to continue to eat meals and snacks even though we are not overly hungry. On the other hand, starting the day after Christmas with a short 20- to 30-minute high-intensity workout will go a long way in easing digestive comfort, while a light breakfast of coffee and fruit is all you need to give the metabolism a boost with minimal calories.
The day after
If your Christmas Day feasting continues over several days, limiting the number of meals you enjoy each day will be the best way to avoid the experience of gross overconsumption. This means a heavy lunch or dinner meal will easily be buffered with a 12 to 16 hour fast, meaning that you can still enjoy the more indulgent meals but with minimal digestive discomfort over the holidays.
AuthorSusie Burrellis a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder ofShape Me, co-host ofThe Nutrition Couchpodcastand prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.
How many minutes of exercise it takes to work off Christmas foods
It will come as no surprise to hear that diets, restrictive diets in particular, are rarely effective long term. One reason for this is that strict eating plans that require you to measure portions and count calories are not easy to follow.
Surprisingly, one variable less frequently mentioned in discussions about why so many diets fail, is the ‘addictive’ aspect of certain foods. Specifically, ‘ultra-processed foods’ including chocolate, flavoured chips, ice-cream, cakes, biscuits, fried and fast foods with their mix of colours, flavours and preservatives appear to prime the brain to seek out more and more of these tasty treats, which makes sticking to a diet especially challenging.
The idea that certain foods can be addictive is not without controversy. Unlike illicit substances — like alcohol and tobacco which are not necessary for survival — human beings need to eat and as such labelling food as ‘addictive’ is not without the need for clear disclaimers. Rather, it is only foods termed ‘ultra-processed’, or foods that bear little to no resemblance to whole natural foods that are associated with overeating.
In one study, participants were given diets that were matched in calories and macronutrients, but one diet included only ultra-processed foods (for example: a breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese and bacon) compared to the other diet that was wholefood based or a breakfast of oats, nuts, banana and milk. In just two weeks, participants in the ultra-processed group consumed an average of 500 more calories a day confirming the research hypothesis that more processed foods are associated with eating more and ultimately weight gain.
In an attempt to quantify the additive aspects of processed foods, researchers at theIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinaicompared popular foods like pizza and cookies with the experience of eating them, using theYale Food Addiction Scale. Based on participants responses, the individual foods were able to be rated from most addictive to least additive. No surprises to find that ultra-processed foods topped the list of foods rated as most additive.
The take home message is simple, if your goal is to control or lose weight, one of the easiest ways to make your dieting experience easier is to minimise your intake of ultra-processed foods.
The most addictive foods
Pizza
Rich in processed carbs, fat and salt, the mix of flavour, processed starches used to make the base, and fatty toppings give the brain a stimulation overload. If you love pizza, help to control your intake by choosing thin, baked bases with minimal toppings.
It’s always hard to stop at one slice. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Chocolate
We are not taking about 85% cocoa chocolate here, rather the sickly-sweet milk variety many of us cannot stop eating once we start eating a block. The addition of extra confectionery will make it worse. If chocolate is your vice, stick to small serving sizes — the plainest, darkest varieties are your best option.
Potato chips
Potato chips are another carb and fat overloaded snack packed with appealing flavours, which may explain why an entire bag disappears in no time. Again, purchase smaller packets if you must indulge and plain is much better than flavoured options.
Cookies
Less popular in Australia, the mix of white flour, sugar and fat gives the brain a stimulation overload. Make your own with natural ingredients if you enjoy a cookie or biscuit every now and again.
Ice-cream
With so many flavours to choose from, along with confectionery, syrups, nuts and chocolate often added, is it any wonder we cannot stop at a single scoop. Seek out lower calorie sorbets or gelato in a single scoop.
The least addictive
Cucumber
Mostly water, adding a cucumber a day to your diet will help reduce bloating and boost up your fibre and potassium intake for very few calories.
Carrots
Another nutrient-rich salad vegetable that will boost your beta carotene and fibre intake with minimal calories.
Beans
Legumes are a protein and nutrient-rich option that can benefit all of us, not just the vegetarians — add to salads, mince dishes and soups to boost your nutrition.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Apples
Need a sweet hit? Look no further than a humble apple, which can serve as a perfect sugar hit mid-afternoon especially if enjoyed with a little cheese or nut spread.
Brown rice
While relatively high in carbs, for active people a small portion of carbs with your lunch or dinner may even help to prevent sugar cravings later in the evening.
AuthorSusie Burrellis a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder ofShape Me, co-host ofThe Nutrition Couchpodcastand prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.
Popular Christmas party foods ranked in calories, from lowest to highest
Party season naturally means delicious party treats but a number of our favourite party foods are sneaky when it comes to their calorie content.
If your goal is to watch your calorie intake this silly season, try and avoid anything fried instead look for fresh ingredients including vegetables, salad and fruit. And, if you must indulge (don’t we all?) look for small, portioned-controlled options of your favourite party foods.
Here are some of the most common party foods ranked from lowest to the highest calorie indulgences.
Consider this your handy guide to making thoughtful choices as you enjoy your summer parties.
If they have not already started, chances are you have a few parties already scheduled for the next few weeks.
Now, Christmas should never be about diets and deprivation, but when it comes to party food, there are definitely some festive favourites that pack a big punch when it comes to calories.
Dietitian Susie Burrell warns; some festive calorie bombs are best avoided entirely. (Susie Burrell)
They may seem tiny, but even the smallest party snacks can be packed full of fat and calories. Any food with a pastry case including pies, sausage rolls and quiches as well as sweet treats like fruit mince tarts will offer a hearty dose of saturated, and often trans-fat, which can still be found in many commercially baked goods. In addition, pastry is a food that rates very low on satiety indexes, which means it is incredibly easy to overeat. As such, a blanket rule of skipping the pastry this Christmas will go a long way in keeping both your fat and calorie intake under control.
Careful with the cheese platters, some cold cuts can contain up to 30 per cent fat. (Getty)
Processed meats
The party season means plenty of entertaining platters and platters which tends to be filled with cheese, dips and a range of processed meats like salami, prosciutto and mortadella. Whilst deli meats are generally served in thin slices, they can contain up to 30 per cent fat and more than half your upper daily recommended intake of sodium.
Fried snacks
Arancini balls, chicken wings, spring rolls and salt and pepper squid are popular on party menus but with a single piece of a fried snack offering between 100-150 calories and 5-10g of fat it is easy to see how a few pieces off a platter can quickly equate to more calories than a meal. The good news is that you can find plenty of low-calorie canapes, including grilled meat skewers, sushi and seafood, so steer towards these options and avoid as much deep-fried food as you can.
‘Tis the season for choc-dipped treats — biscuits, fruit and nuts which can fill bowls and platters in many an office or home. While a handful of choc-dipped goodness may seem harmless enough, the numbers tell a different story.
For example: just 10 chocolate covered almonds has almost as many calories as a meal, while a handful of choc-coated sultanas contains 120 calories, 16g of sugars and more than 6g of fat.
The best way to manage these cheeky treats that slip into our days is to avoid grabbing handfuls of anything, and if you feel like a biscuit or chocolate, enjoy a set portion that you sit down and enjoy rather than mindlessly munching on extra calories throughout the day.
Entertaining platters are extremely popular — visual feasts of meats, cheese, crackers and dips which appear pretty healthy thanks to their bright colours and pretty arrangements. One thing to keep in mind when arranging your favourite platter is that in general dips are anything but healthy. Usually made with high-fat cream cheese, oil or nuts as a base, a single tablespoon of dip can equate to as much as 5g of fat and 80-100 calories. If you consider that we usually enjoy dips with chips or crackers, you can literally down an entire meal of dip and crackers in a very short period of time.
Avoid a complete calorie overload on your platters by specifically seeking out low-calorie options such as beetroot or tzatziki dips, enjoy dips with chopped vegetables rather than crackers and portion out your serves so you are not tempted to keep dipping.
Shortbread
If you hail from the UK or Scotland, a giant tin of shortbread is sure to be on your family’s coffee table throughout December. The buttery, sugary biscuits are a rich tasty treat with a warm drink and even better now you can find chocolate varieties in supermarkets. The downside is that with 5g of fat and more than 100 calories in a single shortbread finger they can easily add hundreds of calories to your daily intake if you are munching on them through the day. A healthier option is a biscotti with just 20-30 calories and 1g of fat per serve or if you must have your shortbread, limit yourself to one biscuit each day.
A healthier alternative to shortbread is a biscotti, with just 20-30 calories and 1g of fat per serve. (iStock)
If you hail from the UK or Scotland, a giant tin of shortbread is sure to be on your family’s coffee table throughout December.
The buttery, sugary biscuits are a rich treat with a warm drink, and even better now you can find chocolate varieties in supermarkets. The downside is that with 5g of fat and more than 100 calories in a single shortbread finger, they can easily add hundreds of calories to your daily intake if you are munching on them through the day.
A healthier option is a biscotti, with just 20-30 calories and 1g of fat per serve or if you must have your shortbread, limit yourself to one biscuit each day.
AuthorSusie Burrellis a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder ofShape Me, co-host ofThe Nutrition Couchpodcastand prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.
So to save ourselves (and our delightful readers) the stress on December 25, we called one of our faithful accredited practising dietitians,Tim McMaster, to beg for forgiveness for all of the food sins we are about to commit. And the good news is, he completely let us — and you — off the hook.
“I always get people saying they’re worried about Christmas Day and the bucketloads of food available,” says McMaster who is a spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia.
“I always say, ‘How often do we celebrate Christmas?’ It’s a once-a-year thing. If Christmas Day was every day, we’d have a problem but [on this one day] I want you to indulge and have fun. But try to have a couple of barriers in place so it’s not stressful.”
“It will probably delay that [desire] to snack on treat foods earlier in the day.”
High fibre and a good dose of protein are your goals for Christmas — or any — breakfast.
“A breakfast option that has lots of dietary fibre means it will digest slower so you’ll keep fuller for longer and it will help your blood sugar levels remain stable in the morning,” he says.
“Traditional rolled oats or muesli, wholegrain toast with nut butter or fruit and high-protein yoghurt are all good options. Adding some pepitas or chia seeds can help creep up the protein a bit more.”
Do some exercise
Start your day with some form of movement and you’ll be in a great headspace for the day ahead. (Particularly important if you’re going to befacing some frustrating relatives.)
“It can burn up a few calories before the day gets going,” McMaster says.
“Or you could do something after lunch or later in the afternoon — take a walk with the family or play some backyard cricket.”
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Strategise your buffet selections
“If you can’t decide what to have, then I’d recommend focusing on the traditional Christmas foods that you rarely have over the rest of the year,” McMaster says.
“Another good tip is to start with vegetables because they’re not going to make you feel gross. If you have them on the plate first then you’ve got less space for some of the heavier meat options.”
Have a solid catch-up
The more you’re chatting to your relatives, the less you’re shovelling food into your mouth.
“Strike up the conversation because that will slow your speed of eating,” McMaster points out.
“You might actually notice yourself feeling fuller [and stopping before you feel sluggish].”
Lighten up later
If you had a heavy lunch and are feeling a tad sluggish, then McMaster says you might just choose salad or vegetables at dinner.
“You can also wait until you physically need to eat something,” he says.
“You might think, ‘It’s 6pm now and I’m not hungry but by 7.30pm or 8pm I might have some then’.”
(Getty)
Drink smart
Alcohol calories can add up, and a few too many bevvies can easily escalate any stress or family tension, so McMaster says it’s always a good idea to alternate alcoholic drinks.
“Having soda water with some fresh lime instead of alcohol is a good idea too,” he says.
“At the end of the day, be mindful of how much alcohol you have.”
An Australian man who took on the challenge of only eatingKFCfor an entire month has revealed the devastating effect fast food can have on the body.
Fitness fanatic Conan Visser claimed he piled on eight kilograms and noticed a drastic slump in hismental healthafter 30 days of only consuming KFC.
Speaking on hisTikTok, Visser said his diet of deep-fried chicken, chips, mashed potatoes and burgers resulted in liver and kidney damage — but the worst consequence was his declining mental health.
“I put on a kilo every three and a half days, my blood showed liver and kidney damage and I had to go to my doctor because my stomach was hurting so much,” he explainedin a video.
“The biggest effects were my mental health, my training and my motivation.”
Visser, who usually works out twice a day, said he lost all energy after just two weeks of his KFC diet.
After three weeks, he didn’t want to exercise at all.
“Man, it brought up some demons from when I used to be overweight,” Visser told his followers.
“I was not feeling good about myself, so my mental health really declined, really fast.”
Visser ate from the fast food chain every day for 30 days. (TikTok)
“This journey is just super weird. A lot of highs and lows. I’m just starting to feel gross and I’m hating the weight getting put on,” Visser said.
KFC Australia provides its customers with a nutrition factsheet and encourages a “balanced diet” on its website, describing its food as an “occasional treat” in an otherwise healthy lifestyle.
“A healthy diet is a balanced diet. Different foods contain different nutrients. So to get everything you need, you should eat a variety of foods,” the company states.
“With the right choices, KFC’s great tasting food can easily fit into a healthy lifestyle as an occasional treat.”
For many of us, eatingparticular foodscan be comforting: a pick-me-up during a hard task; a reward after a long day at work; a satiating end to a lovely dinner.
But some people have a compulsive and uncontrolled urge to eat particular foods, especially hyper-palatable “junk” foods. This can impact on their day-to-day functioning, and their ability to fulfil social, work or family roles.
People who struggle withaddictive eatingmay have intense cravings, which don’t relate to hunger, as well as increased levels of tolerance for large quantities of food, and feelings of withdrawal.
Rather than hunger, these cravings may be prompted by low mood, mental illness (depression and anxiety), high levels of stress, or heightened emotions.
“Food addiction” or “addictive eating” is not yet a disorder that can be diagnosed in a clinical setting. Yet patients often ask health professionals about how to manage their addictive eating.
These health providers generally acknowledge their patients’ addictive eating behaviours but may be unsure of suitable treatments.
Food addiction is commonly assessed using the Yale Food Addiction Scale.
The science of addictive eating is still emerging, but researchers are increasingly noting addiction and reward pathways in the brain triggered by stress, heightened emotions and mental illness are associated with the urge to overeat.
How common is it?
Many factors contribute to overeating. The abundance of fast food, junk food advertising, and the highly palatable ingredients of many processed foods can prompt us to eat whether we are hungry or not.
However, some people report a lack of control over their eating, beyond liking and wanting, and are seeking help for this.
Around one in six people (15-20%) report addictive patterns of eating or addictive behaviours around food.
While food addiction is higher among people with obesity and mental health conditions, it only affects a subset of these groups.
The abundance of fast food advertising can contribute to overeating. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
How can you tell if you have a problem?
Typically, food addiction occurs with foods that are highly palatable, processed, and high in combinations of energy, fat, salt and/or sugar while being low in nutritional value. This might include chocolates, confectionery, takeaway foods, and baked products.
These foods may be associated with high levels of reward and may therefore preoccupy your thoughts. They might elevate your mood or provide a distraction from anxious or traumatic thoughts, and over time, you may need to eat more to get the same feelings of reward.
For some people with addictive eating, food preoccupies their thoughts. Shutterstock
However, for others, it could be an addiction to feelings of fullness or a sense of reward or satisfaction.
There is ongoing debate about whether it is components of food that are addictive or the behaviour of eating itself that is addictive, or a combination of the two.
Given people consume foods for a wide range of reasons, and people can form habits around particular foods, it could be different for different people.
Through our research exploring the experiences of adults, we found many people with addictive eating attribute their behaviours to experiences that occurred in childhood.
These events are highly varied. They range from traumatic events, to the use of dieting or restrictive eating practices, or are related to poor body image or body dissatisfaction.
Our latest research found addictive eating in teenage years is associated with poorer quality of life and lower self-esteem, and it appears to increase in severity over time.
Children and adolescents tend to have fewer addictive eating behaviours, or symptoms, than adults. Of the 11 symptoms of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, children and adolescents generally have only two or three, while adults often have six or more, which is classified as severe food addiction.
The associations we observed in adolescents are also seen in adults: increased weight and poorer mental health is associated with a greater number of symptoms and prevalence of food addiction.
This highlights that some adolescents will need mental health, eating disorder and obesity services, in a combined treatment approach.
We also need to identify early risk factors to enable targeted, preventative interventions in younger age groups.
Unhealthy eating habits often start during childhood. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The underlying causes of addictive eating are diverse so treatments can’t be one-size-fits-all.
A large range of treatments are being trialled. These include:
passive approaches such as self-help support groups
trials of medications such as naltrexone and bupropion, which targets hormones involved in hunger and appetite and works to reduce energy intake
bariatric surgery to assist with weight loss. The most common procedure in Australia is gastric banding, where an adjustable band is placed around the top part of the stomach to apply pressure and reduce appetite.
However, few of the available self-help support groups include involvement or input from qualified health professionals. While providing peer support, these may not be based on the best available evidence, with few evaluated for effectiveness.
Medications and bariatric surgery do involve health professional input and have been shown to be effective in achieving weight loss and reducing symptoms of food addiction in some people.
However, these may not be suitable for some people, such as those in the healthy weight range or with complex underlying health conditions. It’s also critical people receiving medications and surgery are counselled to make diet and other lifestyle changes.
Other holistic, personalised lifestyle approaches that include diet, physical activity, as well as mindfulness, show promising results, especially when co-designed with consumers and health professionals.
Personalised lifestyle approaches including diet and exercise can help some people with their unhealthy food habits. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Our emerging treatment program
We’re also creating new holistic approaches to manage addictive eating. We recently trialled an online intervention tailored to individuals’ personalities.
Delivered by dietitians and based on behaviour change research, participants in the trial received personalised feedback about their symptoms of addictive eating, diet, physical activity and sleep, and formulated goals, distraction lists, and plans for mindfulness, contributing to an overall action plan.
After three months, participants reported the program as acceptable and feasible. The next step in our research is to trial the treatment for effectiveness. We’re conducting a research trial to determine the effectiveness of the treatment on decreasing symptoms of food addiction and improving mental health.
This is the first study of its kind and if found to be effective will be translated to clinical practice.
If you feel you experience addictive eating, talk to your GP or contact an accredited practising dietitian for assessment and support.
Have you ever been trying to lose weight, but find yourself munching on the kids’ snacks late at night?
Or do you start the week with the best intentions only to find yourself ordering high-fat takeaway by week’s end?
Or do you regularly plan to order a salad at lunch only to be lured by the more indulgent menu items?
The good news is that you are not alone. Self-sabotage, like many human behaviours occurs for a number of reasons and in isolation is no cause for concern. On the other hand, if you have been wanting to lose weight for a long time and seem to constantly be behaving in a way that is counterproductive, it may be time to take a closer look at how and why you are standing in the way of your own weight loss goals.
There’s a big difference between mindless munching on some extra snacks at a friend’s house, and actively filling the house with foods you know are not the best choices for you — or indulging in a little dessert when out with friends and overeating everything in sight for no real reason. In these examples, when you find yourself making an effort to do something that is completely misaligned with your weight-loss goal it’s a form of self-sabotage.
Taking time to identify when you may be doing this is a key step in moving forward. Sometimes self-awareness is all we need to make changes, or if you’re not sure where things are going wrong, consulting with a dietitian or psychologist to help you identify the times when you are most likely to self-sabotage your diet may be a smart investment.
Set up your environment for success
It may sound annoyingly simple, but if your environment at work, and at home is not conducive to eating well, it is highly unlikely you will be able to maintain any new, healthy behaviours long term. Human beings eat what is readily available and behave like those around them, which means if you want to eat well and exercise, you need to be around people who make this easy. This also means taking active steps towards success by not keeping tempting foods at home; not shopping when you are hungry, planning your meals in advance and scheduling your activity. No excuses.
Many of us hold a belief that our behaviours need to be perfect 100 per cent of the time to achieve results and as such give ourselves permission to fall off track when we indulge a little or are not ‘perfect’.
A much more balanced, sustainable approach is to factor in some down time off your diet and exercise program to indulge and enjoy.
Whether it’s a meal off each week, a small treat each day or a day free from structured exercise, ensuring you do not feel deprived is an important part of not succumbing to temptation when it does cross our path.
Our ability to be restrained is impacted by our energy levels and ability to keep present and mindful. This partially explains why we are more tempted at night after a long day. This also means that when you have a goal like weight loss, avoiding temptation or the environment in which self-control will be more difficult is crucial. This means that going to bed earlier; shutting down the kitchen or scheduling something else to do at times when you have been known to self-sabotage is a key behavioural strategy to keep focused on your health and weight related goals.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Recruit support
When those around us are aware and supportive, it will become much easier to keep on track with your healthy behaviours, and more difficult to self-sabotage. This means sharing your goals with your friends, family and even work mates so they know to support you rather than aid in any self-sabotage. Often, we are scared to ask for help or support but you will be surprised how much people will go out of their way to make healthy decisions easier when they know it is something that is important to you and that you have asked for their help in staying on track.
AuthorSusie Burrellis a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder ofShape Me, co-host ofThe Nutrition Couchpodcastand prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.
Ranked: Popular sauces and their calorie, sugar and salt load
