Unhelpful Eating Habits checklist

It’s the way that we eat day-in, day-out that determines what we weigh, and whether we are gaining, losing or staying at the same weight.  Taken together, our overall eating habits contribute to us weighing what we weigh.

To change our weight we need to change our eating habits. And if we want to be able to stay at our new weight, we need to change our eating habits permanently.  Habit change can be hard work, but it’s made easier if you change just one habit at a time.

Here’s a list of the most common unhelpful eating habits. You can print off the table and tick those that apply to you. Then look at which of the ones you’ve ticked you want to work on first. You’ll find tips on how to make these changes in my self-help book How to Retrain Your Appetite and in the blog articles on the website.

 

 

Type of unhelpful habitUnhelpful Eating HabitApplies to me?
Eating routineMy eating routine is erratic or non-existent
Eating routineI skip meals quite often to save calories
Eating too muchMy portion sizes are too big
Eating too muchI eat dessert even if I'm already full
Eating too muchI binge on unhealthy foods and can't stop
Eating when not hungryI eat out of habit (e.g. biscuits with tea/coffee)
Eating when not hungryI eat now in case I'm hungry later
Eating when not hungryI eat something just because it's there
Eating when not hungryI eat when bored/ stressed/ agitated/ anxious although I'm not hungry
Eating when not hungryI get cravings for particular foods and give in to them whether hungry or not
Problems with what you're eatingFood I expect to enjoy isn't satisfying so I keep trying other foods
Problems with what you're eatingI eat too much unhealthy food and/or drink too much alcohol