Home
>
Weight Loss
>
Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle changes necessary if we are going to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

For many people, changing eating habits is one of the hardest things they'll ever do, as anybody who has gone on a diet and tried to stick to it can attest.

If you've tried to change your eating habits before and have failed, or if you're about to embark on a weight loss plan of your own that involves a change towards healthier eating, the tips in this article are designed to improve your chances of success.

First things first

One of the reasons most people fail to stick to a diet is that they take the wrong first step.

There are broadly two ways to change your eating habits in order to help you lose weight:

1. Change what you eat

2. Change how much you eat

Ideally, in order to maximize weight loss over the LONG TERM we need to change both. But it's not a good idea to change both at once.

This is where most people make mistakes. They try to change both at once or if they only change one, they change the wrong one first.

When faced with the above two options, most people take option 1 first when the best first option to take to help you lose weight is typically option 2.

Why? The reason is actually quite simple.

It is far easier for most of us to go from eating 3 to 2 pieces of fried chicken for dinner than it is to go from 3 pieces of fried chicken to a garden salad.

Sure, eating the salad will help us lose more weight than forgoing only one piece of fried chicken, but permanent weight loss is a long term process and going down to 2 pieces of chicken forever is far better than eating a garden salad for dinner for 1 week and then going back to 3 pieces of chicken for the rest of our life.

Remember, we are trying to make permanent lifestyle changes here and most of us won't stick to these changes if they are too radical compared to what we are currently doing.

Food reduction tips

Here are some tips to help you reduce the amount you eat:

? Making small permanent changes are better than radical changes that you won't be able to live with.

? Don't worry about falling back to your old behaviour for a day or two, only the long term counts.

? Use portion controlled packaged foods to help you (prepackaged frozen meals and single serve snack packs for example).

? Use smaller plates than usual to serve your meals.

? When eating out, buy entr?e sized meals or share a full sized meal with your partner or friend.

? Separate a third or quarter of the food on your plate and move it to one side before you begin eating, then leave that third or quarter uneaten at the end of the meal.

? Eat small amounts of food every couple of hours so you're not starving at main meal times.

? Drink plenty of water throughout the day ? most people mistake thirst for hunger.

? Eat slowly and concentrate on your meal ? don't watch TV while you're eating for example.

? Gradually reduce your serving sizes over time until they reach the ideal size.

? When eating take away, don't buy super-sized options.

? Remember that to make these changes habit you are going to have to continue to practice them consciously for awhile (maybe up to 3 months) until they become unconscious.

? Be the last one at the table to start eating.

? Put your fork or food down between bites.

? Chew or swallow each bite before the next.

? Pause in the middle of the meal.

? Don't eat while cooking ? this increases your total serving size, often without being noticed.

? Place leftover food in small, single serve containers.

? Have soup or a salad with low calorie dressing to begin a meal.

? As soon as you begin to feel full, stop eating.

? Try to reduce stress in your life and other things that cause you to eat on emotion.

The second step

OK, you've gradually started to reduce the amount of food you eat and are starting to slowly (but surely) lose weight.

If you haven't already, now is the time to start to become more active to improve your general level of fitness, increase your energy levels and of course speed up the weight loss process.

Now that these habits are well established, it's time to start thinking about making minor positive adjustments to what we eat. Instead of eating a piece of fried chicken for dinner for example (we've migrated from 3 down to 2 and now down to 1) maybe we can have a piece of fried chicken without the skin or a piece of grilled or broiled chicken instead.

And maybe we can replace half of the chips that accompany our chicken with a corn cob or a handful of your favourite steamed vegetables. See how we're making small positive changes that we can live with?

While changing what we eat is often more difficult that slowly but gradually reducing how much we eat, there are things that we can do to make sure that when we do begin to change this aspect of our behaviour that we are successful.

Healthy diet modification tips

Here are a couple of things to consider when improving our diet:

? A healthy diet is a balanced diet and a balanced diet has plenty of variety - occasional fast food meals are OK; just don't make them the staple.

? Plan ahead ? don't be forced into choosing inferior food options because you failed to think ahead.

? Start by modifying your breakfast. Breakfast is so important that it is the logical place to begin when trying to improve your diet. Whole-grain, high-fiber cereals with low-fat milk are an excellent choice.

? Understand and read the Nutrition Facts labels on packaged food.

? Compare the nutritional facts of like products and if possible, opt for the choice with the lowest calories, sugar, salt and/or fat.

? Be adventurous; try new dishes whenever you can.

? Remember that the cooking method you use can increase or reduce the calories contained in food.

? Buy a new cookbook or food magazine for food and healthier choice ideas.

? Exchange healthy recipes with friends.

? Try new restaurants.

? Alternate alcohol with low calorie drinks (water is perfect).

? Join a healthy cooking class.

? Start a healthy cooking dinner club.

? Invite friends over for a vegetarian (or other theme) meal.

? Make meals delicious as well as nutritious.

? Remove temptations from your home.

? Become physically, not externally connected to eating.

? Shop using a shopping list and never shop when hungry.

? Be wary at cultural and social events ? don't let your guard down.

? Feel proud every time you say "no" to a problem food.

? Neutralize food. There are no good or bad foods - all foods are OK when eaten in moderation.

? Stop Dieting.

General Guidelines for behaviour modification

In addition to the tips above, try some of these general guidelines to behaviour modification:

? Be ready to change.

? Develop a plan.

? Set goals, track your progress, and reward yourself to stay motivated.

? Make change fun.

? Slow down your busy lifestyle.

? Understand your personal barriers to change so you can avoid excuses.

? Don't look for quick fixes and easy options.

? Keep a positive attitude.

? Watch your language, especially when talking to yourself.

? Change your reward system so that it is not based on food and rewards behaviour modifications, not weight loss results.

? Enlist the help of qualified professionals (e.g. a registered dietitian, a physician, a personal trainer and/or a psychologist).

Good luck and remember you can do whatever you set your mind to!

For all your weight loss and healthy lifestyle needs, visit www.weightloss.com.au and become a happier, healthier you.

Scott Haywood

emergency cleaning services Glencoe ..

In The News:

The iconic Mary Kay pink Cadillac goes electric with the Cadillac Optiq, available only to the company's top 1% of sales force performers.

Cybercriminals abuse trusted Intel driver to gain kernel access and shut down Windows Defender, enabling undetected malware deployment since July 2025.

Using email aliases for online shopping and subscriptions can protect your privacy by preventing companies from linking your activity across websites.

New research shows AI overlap does not equal job replacement, with knowledge-based roles seeing most integration while physical jobs remain least affected.

Scammers target seniors who avoid social media by exploiting public records like obituaries and real estate filings to steal personal information and money

Recovery team in Italy use AI-enabled drones to detect missing hiker's red helmet, leading to successful recovery after months of ground searches

Google Salesforce system breach exposes business data while scammers use incident to target users with fake security calls and phishing attempts.

Google announces Pixel 10 lineup with Tensor G5 chip and Gemini Nano AI, introducing Magic Cue, Pro Res Zoom up to 100x and satellite emergency support features.

C San Diego study reveals 86% of school safety companies monitor students 24/7 on personal devices, raising privacy concerns.

Users can now add their favorite outlets' coverage to the Top Stories section of Google search results by utilizing the 'preferred sources' feature. With just a few clicks, you can add Fox News.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS shows an unexpected frontal glow that Harvard's Avi Loeb says cannot be explained by sunlight reflection or standard cometary outgassing.

Receiving order confirmations for purchases you never made could mean your email address is being exploited in fraud operations targeting multiple retailers.

First wireless brain implant works with Apple's official protocol, enabling hands-free control of iPhones, iPads and Vision Pro through thought alone.

Data brokers sell personal details that scammers use to target retirement funds through fake financial advisor calls and convincing phishing attempts

Ten innovative tech solutions from gait sensors to smart pill dispensers help adults 65+ track fall risks and prevent injuries before they happen.

Meta AI internal documents revealed chatbots were allowed to flirt with children and engage in romantic conversations until the company was exposed by Reuters.

ChatGPT will avoid giving direct mental health advice under new OpenAI rules following instances where the AI model provided harmful or misleading responses.

Your phone tracks you in more ways than that little GPS icon suggests. Here’s how to find and clear hidden location logs on iPhone and Android.

Authorities in France and the Netherlands have been notified. Meanwhile, impacted customers are being told to stay alert.

Apple just rolled out a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature to specific models, following a recent victory in a legal dispute.

Kidney dialysis provider DaVita experienced a ransomware breach by the Interlock gang affecting 916,000 people in the second-largest U.S. healthcare attack of 2025.

A Chinese-made Unitree R1 robot walked Manhattan streets and shopped for shoes as part of KraneShares' $28 million AI robotics fund promotion campaign.

The ShinyHunters cybercriminal group breached Google's Salesforce system through vishing attacks, stealing business contact details and customer data.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Changing Our Eating Behaviour

Weight Loss