As expected, the New York Board of Health passed a rule banning sugary drinks like soda in sizes 16 oz. or larger at restaurants, concession stands and other eateries in an effort to combat obesity today. NYC Mayor Bloomberg has been tweeting info graphics (here and here) about reducing portion size and what they want to accomplish with the ban.
Whether you agree with the plan or not, this is a great time to evaluate your own eating habits. CDC’s Healthy Eating Page is full of helpful information.
A few of their tips really hit home for me. Here are 5 tips to improve your healthy eating habits.
- Create a list of your eating habits and highlight the habits on your list that may be leading you to overeat. Common eating habits that can lead to weight gain are:
- Eating too fast
- Always cleaning your plate
- Eating when not hungry
- Eating while standing up (may lead to eating mindlessly or too quickly)
- Always eating dessert
- Skipping meals (or maybe just breakfast)
- Look at the unhealthy eating habits you’ve highlighted. Be sure you’ve identified all the triggers that cause you to engage in those habits. Identify a few you’d like to work on improving first. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for the things you’re doing right. Maybe you almost always eat fruit for dessert, or you drink low-fat or fat-free milk. These are good habits! Recognizing your successes will help encourage you to make more changes.
- Replace unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones. For example, in reflecting upon your eating habits, you may realize that you eat too fast when you eat alone. So, make a commitment to share a lunch each week with a colleague, or have a neighbor over for dinner one night a week. Other strategies might include putting your fork down between bites or minimizing other distractions (i.e. watching the news during dinner) that might keep you from paying attention to how quickly — and how much — you’re eating.
- Eat more slowly.
- Eat only when you’re truly hungry instead of when you are tired, anxious, or feeling an emotion besides hunger.
For more information, take a look at our page on obesity and healthy eating for more information.
Zak
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