Your weight loss efforts will succeed or fail based largely on your
food environment. Set yourself up for success by taking charge of your
food environment: when you eat, how much you eat, and what foods are
available.
- Start the day with breakfast.
People who eat breakfast tend to be thinner than
those who don’t.
Starting your day with a healthy breakfast will jumpstart your
metabolism, plus, it will help keep you from binge eating later in the
day.
- Serve yourself smaller portions.
One easy way to control portion size is by using small plates, bowls,
and cups. This will make your portions appear larger. Don’t eat out of
large bowls or directly from the food container or package, which
makes it difficult to assess how much you’ve eaten.
- Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time.
You will be more inclined to eat in moderation if you have thought out
healthy meals and snacks in advance. You can buy or create your own
small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers. Eating on a
schedule will also help you avoid eating when you aren’t truly hungry.
- Cook your own meals. Cooking
meals at home allows you to control both portion size and what goes in
to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more
sodium, fat, and calories than food cooked at home—plus the portion
sizes tend to be larger.
- Don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry.
Create a shopping list and stick to it. Be especially careful to avoid
foods at the ends of the aisles and along the perimeter, where grocers
tend to sell high-calorie snack and convenience foods.
- Out of sight, out of mind. Limit
the amount of tempting foods you have at home. If you share a kitchen
with non-dieters, store snack foods and other high-calorie indulgences
in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.
- Fast for 14-16 hours a day. Try
to eat your last meal earlier in the day and then fast until breakfast
the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary
adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your
digestive system a long break each day—may help you to lose weight.
After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best
avoided, anyway.
