How To Eat Less

How to eat less is easier than you may think. Changing habits can occur when new behaviors are practiced and supported over time. Here are a few of the important principles to follow:

1. STRESS MANAGEMENT: We all need a stress reduction list of replacement behaviors to follow. Rather than eat when stressed, we will: 1. Take a walk; 2. Call a friend; 3. Meditate or whatever you put on your list. What has worked best is to practice your replacement behavior as soon as you get home from work every day. You reduce your stress before it builds while creating a healthy habit.

2. CONTROL YOUR TRIGGERS: When we see or smell food, it causes or triggers a biochemical change in our brain of increased gherkin, a hormone that causes hunger. Stores place impulse items near the check out area counting on this effect. Start out making a list of the things that trigger hunger in you. The common ones are TV and magazine food ads, shopping when hungry, eating out, and talking about food.

3. SLOW DOWN: Most Nigerians eat in a hurry, The food goes down so fast, it doesn't register with your brain. So, we keep eating until we are stuffed. One preventative technique we use is to count your chews and take smaller bites. If that's too boring, just put your fork down between bites.

4. NO TELEVISION: TV distracts us from paying attention to our intake. The main behavior that's correlated with being obese is TV watching while snacking. 

There are more principles, but these should be enough to get you started that fall under the category of easy to do. Once you get used to these replacement behaviors, you do them without thinking. So, go ahead and make your list, get people involved, and have fun with your new lifestyle.