I love being a dietitian. But sometimes the standards are pretty high. Running into people in restaurants or the grocery store feels like I’m being studied in my natural habitat. The assumption of most dietitians is that 1) we can live off green smoothies and salad alone, 2) that we secretly judge everything on your plate, and 3) we are immune to the temptations of sugary, delectable foods. But I’m just a normal girl, livin’ in a food-filled world.
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So in the effort of complete transparency- I’m airing out my bad eating habits . Every. Single. Dirty one of them.
1. Weekends. Do I need to explain further? I’m out of my routine on the weekends so vitamins and fluids take the back seat to home depot and playing outside. I know I do it and I know I need to do better. Here is what I’m going to do to help— I have vitamins both at home and at work now. Since I don’t have to remember to take them back and forth, I am starting to remember more often. I also have a new app called Water Logged that sends me push notifications about drinking my fluids.
2. Eating too dang fast. I wish I could blame this on a busy schedule or someone else, but that would just be a lie. I have an hour for lunch and the only people I have vying for my attention at dinner is my hubby and sweet little Henry Dog. Maybe I eat fast because I would rather be doing something more fun? Or maybe my kitchen chairs are uncomfortable? But more often than not, I eat fast then regret the overly full feeling I get minutes later. Here are some tricks I’ve been using to slow down– I eat with my left hand. I have a hard time doing anything with my left hand, let alone feeding myself.
3. Eating/snacking in front of the TV. Too often I find myself eating with the cast of the Walking Dead or Parenthood keeping me company- especially when Mr. A is out. And I’m about 99% sure that this contributes to eating too fast and too definitely way too much. In fact, a study published in January 2014 found that women who eat in front of the television compared to not eating in front of the television do not recognize satiety (fullness) as well, which can lead to greater food intake. What can we do to help with this? I’m am going to start eating more on my patio while it is nice outside. And maybe re-upholster my kitchen chairs to be more comfy. 🙂
4. Not keeping a food journal. I do this sporadically. But definitely not daily. It is so beneficial and it can really help most of these bad habits I’m confessing. Here is my plan- food journal in Myfitnesspal while I’m eating. I think it will help me to eat slower and track my food at the same time. Win, win.
5. Grazing while cooking dinner. Gggggrrrrr- why do I do this?!?! I ask myself this daily. I’m chopping veggies and going along with my business, then somehow the hummus is on the counter. In goes the carrot and straight into my mouth. multiple times! A few things have helped me on this. Prep the veggies/fruit/sides as much as you can on the day you grocery shop. If everything is already chopped and ready, cooking time is much shorter! The crockpot is another amazing tool to use. Prepare the meal in the morning, let it cook all day, and eat dinner as soon as you are home from work.
I know this. I know that I should change all of these things. Like everyone else in the world, my eating habits are not perfect. And I definitely do not survive on kale. So all I can do is try my best to break these habits and make a little bit of progress everyday.
What are some of your habits? ~Lauren