7 Habits That Make You Fat

I get more email from healthy living magazines, websites and recipe sites than is normal.  I find when I am having an off day I dismiss them all and delete them immediately so that they don't remind me about eating healthy and how important it is.  Well, lately I have not been doing that and I have been taking the time to actually read most of them and absorbing the material like a sponge.

So, today's blog post is about habits that many of us do that make us fat.  It is from Men's Health.  I know most of the reader's here are women, but I think that article rings true for both men and women, so I am including it in my post today. 

Habit #1

Putting all of the food out on the table buffet style.  Let's be honest when second helpings are within reach it is a lot more likely that we will induldge ourselves with extra helpings than if we are sitting away from the food where we would have to get up to get more.  It looks like making our pre-portioned plates ahead of time can really curb our desire to have additonal servings.  I know for me this is very true.  After I have made an entire meal, made my plate and sat down to enjoy it I am a lot less likely to take another helping.

Habit #2

Getting too Little or too much sleep is the second habit that is mentioned.  I really struggle with this because I often feel like I don't get enough sleep and it makes me crabby and usually results in poor eating or exercising habits.  The article explains that people who don't get at least 5.5 hours of sleep a day are more likely to gain almost 3 pounds each year.  That is a lot considering that ten years of sleeplessness could add 30 pounds to your figure.  Yikes!

Habit #3

Not becoming too much of a couch potato.  This seems obvious, but the article actually talks about not multi-tasking when watching TV.  I almost never multi task while watching TV anymore because we have DVR, so I don't watch the commercials and thus I spend way to much time in front of the tube.  This reminds me a lot of my mom who is ALWAYS moving and you can barely get her to sit through a whole movie.  She may be watching TV, but she is also feeding the dog, doing the dishes, making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning the house.  It's no wonder that my mother is very petite and thin.  I should start making good use of the commercials and not just fast forwarding them and sitting like a blob.

Habit #4

OMG!  This next statistic is downright frightening.  It turns out that there is a sort of correlation between soda consumption and obseity.  I mean we all know it's not great for us, but this statistic for daily soda intake is scary!

½ can = 26 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese
½ to 1 can = 30.4 percent increased risk
1 to 2 cans = 32.8 percent increased risk
More than 2 cans = 47.2 percent increased risk

Wow!  I am going to pass on the diet coke and continue to drink copious amounts of water.  Soda and I are no longer friends and now I remember why.

Habit #5

Trying to shove every last bite into our mouths.  We have all been there before.  Taking huge bites of our food because we are so hungry or because it looks sooooo good.  Turns out that savoring our meals and taking smaller bites means that we will know when we are full and we won't get to that un-botton my pants I am a woodtick position.

Habit #6

Not eating enough fat?  I am sorry, can you say that again!?  Before you dig out the Atkins books and make a 20 piece bacon sandwich note that the article is really referring to making sure we don't carb overload and that we have enough fat in our diet to curb our sugar levels.  I know in the past I have had a diet of carbs on top of carbs sprinkle with carbs, so I can relate to this.  Getting some healthy fats in helped me lose weight.

Habit #7

This brings me back full circle to my opening.  I was just saying that I get tons of emails about healthy living and food tips and when I take the time to read them I am more aware and make better choices.  It is no wonder that I am finding myself reading every article lately and actually putting the advice to work.


Weight loss update... down 2.3 pounds.  I'll take it!  Happy friday!  Be healthy and happy this weekend and make sure you read the full Men's Health article and see if you can change any of your habits!