When it comes to changing eating habits – whether it’s to lose weight or just make healthier choices – having some strategies on-hand can make all the difference.
Leading Australian dietitian, Susie Burrell, believes it’s more beneficial to consider taking the long view when it comes to altering dieting patterns, rather than reach for short-term benefits.
Here, FEMAIL reveals Susie’s top five recommendations for creating new and healthy eating and dieting behaviours for long-term, and sustainable, success.
SELF-MONITORING
According to Susie, one important aspect of weight control – whether this is done by keeping track of your food intake, daily step number, or how much you actually weigh – is constant awareness of how much you are eating or moving.
‘Being mindful of our day-to-day food and activity habits and incremental changes in body size is a crucial aspect of long-term weight control,’ she wrote.
Susie said self-monitoring has been proven in studies as an effective tool for those who wanted to stay accountable, namely to themselves.
She cites research from the US Weight Control Registry which tracked a group of people who lost 15 kilograms or more and kept it off.
The data from that study revealed those who reported reduced rates of self-weighing, tended to show greater weight gain over time.
‘Keeping an eye on our weight via regular check in’s with the scales reminds us to pull back when we see those numbers start to creep up,’ Susie said.
CHOOSE LIMITING NOT RESTRICTING
Though conventional dieting wisdom holds that you need to cut out everything from your diet to lose weight, it can be better over the long term to practice moderation, rather than restriction.
The expert said there are two reasons for why restricting can be problematic:
one, people like to eat tasty food and restricting can set up a binge cycle, and two psychological restriction impacts blood glucose regulation, which may, in turn, cause a craving for the very thing we’re trying to abstain from.
Susie said a moderate dietary approach can is a more sustainable, especially over the long term.
She said ‘Including an occasional glass of wine, or dessert or whatever your vice is should not be frowned upon, rather encouraged.’
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Though it would seem logical to remove tempting treats if you’re making every effort to lose weight, Susie said she’s often astounded by clients that continue to bring high-fat foods into their homes, and then get upset when they eat them.
Again drawing on science, Susie cited the work of behavioural food researcher Brian Wansink whose research shows that people will eat more food when it is readily available.
Susie explained: ‘If we can see the lollies, we will eat double the amount we would if we could not see them.
‘The larger the plate, the more we will eat. Working backwards this simply means if you do not want to eat it, do not buy it, and simply serving yourself less is a powerful weight control technique that we have 100 per cent control over.’
PLAN SNACKS AND MEALS
‘Planning is the key to dietary success,’ the nutritional expert said.
Susie explained that if you have foods on-hand you need to eat, you don’t fall into the trap of eating whatever is most convenient.
‘How many times do you travel, go to a conference or to a social function and find yourself eating poor quality, high-calorie food because you have nothing else on hand and are hungry?’,’ she asked.
To avoid this, Susie suggests always having a backup supply of nutritious food available so you can make choices aligned with your dietary goals.
AIM FOR CONSISTENCY
A blowout for a special occasion can often seem justified.
However, Susie believes it’s better to aim for a more consistent approach to creating and maintaining eating habits.
‘It does not matter if it is Christmas, a birthday or if they have been “good” in the week, individuals who control their weight keep their basic dietary intake consistent,’ she states.
In practical terms, Susie outlined this means always eating breakfast, and always drinking water, and not becoming to hung up on the fact an extra treat might slip in every now and then.
She added: ‘Just as exercise consistency is the key to success so too is dietary consistency.
‘So no more taking the weekend off, or starting again Monday, just start now, with your very next meal or snack choice.’
