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Hacks to Break Mindless Eating

 From Kristie Barker ( @kristiebarkerofficial )

When we’re bored it’s easy to chomp on snacks without thinking. We call it mindless eating and it could be keeping you from losing weight. Your progress slips the moment you start mindlessly eating. A spoonful of peanut butter here and a cracker there add up quickly.

It’s easy to graze due to boredom, wandering aimlessly and grabbing a few pieces of candy along the way. Equally easy to watch a movie and accidentally eat an entire bag of chips. Ever go to the movie theater and eat all your popcorn before the trailers are over? Mindless eating caused by distraction.

Take action against mindless eating — and lose that weight you’re working so hard to lose — with these three simple hacks:

Hack #1: Track Your Eating Speed

I’m a confessed speed eater. I can inhale an entire dinner in five minutes, and start going back for snack packs. Are you like me? We speedy eaters need to slow it down — it takes your brain 20 minutes to realize your stomach is full, and we gain weight by stuffing ourselves before the signal kicks in. 

The next time you’re eating while watching TV, use these helpful tips to make it last 20 minutes (about the same time as an episode of Friends):

  • Set your fork down between each bite.
  • Chew your food thoroughly.
  • Take 3 sips of water between each bite.

Hack #2: Make Bad Eating Inconvenient

Grocery stores use a classic psychological trick to get you to buy certain items: they put it at eye level and make it effortless to grab and go. As a species we prefer the path of least resistance. We can use this to our advantage.

Rearrange your cabinets and fridge. Put the healthy stuff (like your ICON Meals) in the very front, and relegate the fruit snacks to the back. Make the junk food hard to reach, and you’ll never mindlessly grab them again!

Ok, last hack. This one is super easy.

Hack #3: Visual Reminder

This is an easy one!

Sometimes an external reminder can help take us out of boredom and back to reality. Write this on a post-it: “Don’t give up what you want most, for what you want now.”

Stick that visual reminder wherever you need to snap you out of mindlessness and help you make a conscious choice.

Use these three hacks to keep you from mindlessly eating, and go after those long-term goals without sabotaging yourself!

Stay connected with blog author Kristie Barker on:

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