5 Bad Habits Made Healthy

Many people who are overweight share a number of similar lifestyle habits. Of course many slim people also have the same habits!

However if you are looking to improve health or lose fat - here are some typical problem areas to watch for.

Low vegetable and fruit intake
Often the only vegetables are starchy ones such as potatoes.
Low or no water intake
Most fluids come from sweetened drinks (sodas and milky coffees).
Lots of snacking
Where most snacks are either high in fat or sugar or both.
Skipping meals (predominantly breakfast).
Low or no exercise.

Rather than going on another complex diet - simply addressing the above 5 issues may bring about positive change.

Drink more water (and eliminate the need to consume lots of sweetened drinks).
Bring fruit to work instead of hitting the vending machine.
Exercise - start small and be realistic (more here and here).
At dinner-time replace some of the rice/pasta/potatoes with vegetables.
Eat breakfast.

Written By J. Foster

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21 Comments

Crys

Surprisingly (or is it really unsurprisingly?) these were my biggest faults. All except for the sugar snacking. Now I keep a big eco-friendly container of water with me everywhere, and make sure I eat some sort of breakfast. Still working on the others though.

Lose Weight With Me

These are great tips. And oddly enough, these are the core changes I made to lose my weight! :-)

Brian

Patricia (Spain)

Every one of those are worth gold. So simple and yet so difficult for some people to apply. Alone telling one's self they will only drink water and reduce caffeine consumption to just one cup, will save a huge amount of sugar calories. People underestimate that fact.

Each one of those 5 tips will have a positive impact.

The only thing I could suggest adding is use smaller portions and chew thoroughly. That will slow one down, improve digestion and the full sensation will be noticed sooner = less eaten.

I will never forget a comment someone said to me when I offered fruit as a snack (until dinner an hour or so later). FRUIT?? That's not a snack. Don't you have something like crisps or candy? So I set out nuts and raisins. Don't think they were happy.

And walking out to the lighthouse (20 minutes from here). 'Walk?' Was the amazed response.

Eyebee

I am bad at eating breakfast. I mostly work from home so have no excuse, but I'm simply not hungry when I get up, for at least 2-3 hours.

I drink a pot of coffee in the mornings, but I do not take sugar. I don't drink soda - I actually don't like it.

I seldom exercise - it's getting motivated, and finding the time.

Shefaly

Eyebee, sounds like you might be interested in this article:

http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/03/27/dealing-with-deskitis/#comments

Jan

Eyebee, if you have the room, I suggest getting a dog. I exercise but always hated cardio. I got myself a giant breed dog and I have to walk him every morning or he destroys the house, because of too much energy (once it was raining and he chewed through his own water bowl...), so it is not a choice, I walk up earlier and do it. And much to my surprise, the treadmill I hated so much at the gym now looks more appealing, and I actually enjoy walking/running. Being forced to it long enough made me learn to like it.

Plus, they are cute and good protection for your house. If you live in an apartment, you can still get a smaller dog, and then you'll have to walk it twice a day or it will poop indoors.

Debbie

That's a good suggestion, Jan. I never thought of that one, but a dog (especially a puppy) really does keep you moving.

Weight loss blog

There are some more things I would like to add to this list:
Eat more frequently during the day
Go sugar free
low carb diet
Yoga
walking

Rick

Good stuff!

Jim

When I look at this small list - I find myself wondering - why all the bookshelves filled with bloated diet books?

Ryan

Vince Gironda, in his book, totalled less than 2 pages of material about fat loss, maybe a single page. However, what he described will peel the fat off of just about anyone.

Wally

Hectic work could sometimes cause people to skip breakfast. Either they work too hard that they finish late which makes them wake up late and skip breakfast just to get back to work on time. Or their work uses up a lot of energy which makes them tired that they need a lot of sleep which results to the same event as the other.

Iddo Dickens

Morning Sir, am Iddo Dickens. I am a student from ( Lighthouse Christian College ). We are performing a task on a healthy lifestyle. If I my I would like to ask you some questions concerning our school task.1)What do you think is the most common bad habit that people are used to? I've noticed that people ( me to ) skip breakfast a lot.2)Why is it so important to eat breakfast and what would you suggest is the best breakfast to eat( for school children ).3)Is it a must to exercize and should I excersize even if I'm active through the day.4)How can stress affect your body? What is the affects of it? Thank you for the time you took reading this questionair. Please answer as soon as possible. It will be very much appreciated

lynn

i agree with jan. a dog is a great idea. i have cats so a dog wouldnt be welcome in my household but my workaround is to take my busy friends dogs for a walk. they think i am doing them a favor by taking fido for a jaunt. sometimes i walk their dogs so they have time to go to the gym!

Daniel

From an academic, scientific perspective there's a great video called, "Which Diet Works: A Nutrition Review." It's presented by a distinguished clinical dietician (Gail Underbakke) from the University of Wisconsin, Medical School. She reviews the studies in a way that's easy to understand.

Watch Video

Or go to, http://videos.med.wisc.edu

Jan

Wally said:
Hectic work could sometimes cause people to skip breakfast. Either they work too hard that they finish late which makes them wake up late and skip breakfast just to get back to work on time. Or their work uses up a lot of energy which makes them tired that they need a lot of sleep which results to the same event as the other.[...]

I think the problem is if you work late, you eat late, and if you eat late, you are not hungry for breakfast. So I force myself to only eat stuff that will not fill me up for long if I'm up late - carrots, a couple eggs, stuff like that. If I eat "actual food", like some oatmeal, I'm never hungry for breakfast.

Lynn, I have 3 cats and a dog (yeah, it is a zoo) and the dog is scared to death of the cats, even of a kitten I got just a couple weeks ago. Plus, the cats mostly live indoors and the dog has to live outdoors, since it is the size of a pony. It has worked out ok. However, when I tried this in the past with another dog, it was so meek my cat actually abused it, almost scratching its nose out within a week. I had to find a home for the dog. So it is a delicate balance. But borrowing a neighbor's dog is an even better idea. :) Everyone has a busy or elderly neighbor with an animal they can no longer walk.

FitFiend

And, never grocery shop when hungry!

I've said it before on here, the breakfast thing is nonsense that people just carry on repeating. I have seen a couple of dozen studies on breakfast, some find people who skip breakfast binge later and are fatter, some find people who eat breakfast are fatter because they have a higher overall calorie intake, most find nothing.

I haven't eaten breakfast in 20 years and I have a 73cm waist at 84kg weight.

If you overeat at meals, that is the problem, not skipping breakfast.

Dr.J

jb said:
not skipping breakfast[...]

I've commented about this before. It doesn't matter whether one eats breakfast or not. Studies show that even skipping lunch is not significant, as jb said, it's the nutritional intake over the entire day that matters. I personally believe that the extended fast period can have cellular benefits but the research is currently being done on this. For the majority of people, whatever helps with their lifestyle choice is best.Reply

Rhonda

I like jan's idea of forcing one's self to do exercise otherwise there's a punishment. Although it's no longer considered motivational, it's a good way of getting started on things. It probably wouldn't take long until it will become a habit.

Jan

FitFiend said:
And, never grocery shop when hungry![...]

That is a really good one, too.