Unraveling the Influences on Our Eating Behaviors – A Guide by Athletes Kitchen
As the holidays approach, understanding the factors influencing our eating behaviours becomes crucial. Let’s explore the three main influences that impact our choices:
- Environmental Influences: Our surroundings play a significant role in our health, weight, and lifestyle. External factors, like the convenience of fast food and constant advertisements pushing certain choices, affect our decisions.
- Bodily Influence: To achieve healthier eating habits, it’s essential to understand how our bodies work and align our choices accordingly. Eating patterns and lifestyle impact our metabolism, hormone production, and chemical messengers. For instance, low-calorie diets can trigger severe hunger, leading to overeating and poor food choices. Physical activity also plays a part, as inactivity can increase food cravings through hormonal responses. Chronic stress and lack of sleep affect our bodies similarly, leading to the production of cortisol, which promotes fat storage.
- Learned Behaviours: Our associations with food, exercise, sleep, or emotions are shaped by repeated pairings. For instance, if food was used as a reward or comfort in childhood, these associations can persist into adulthood. Learned behaviours can also be influenced by family, friends, or culture.
Awareness of these influences empowers us to identify what needs to change and how we can adapt. The cognitive-behavioural approach suggests that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours strongly impact each other. By understanding this interplay, we can adopt strategies for mindful and intentional eating.
From the Craving Change program, we offer you various strategies to try, recognizing that not all will work for everyone. Select three that resonate with you and work on them over the coming week. The goal is to experiment with different strategies and continue with those that prove effective.
Strategies to Explore:
- Nurture Yourself
- Adopt an 80/20 Mindset
- Eliminate Unwanted Thoughts
- Distract Yourself
- Manage Your Stress
- Put Your Cravings on Hold
- Journal Your Thoughts and Feelings
- Ambush Your Triggers
- Assert Yourself
- Solve Your Problems Effectively
- Quench Your Thirst
- Renovate Your Environment
- Quit Sabotaging Yourself
- Use Positive Affirmations
At Athletes Kitchen, we hope you have a delightful holiday season, practicing mindful and intentional eating. If you seek guidance, book an online session with Diane Tuerke, our Registered Kinesiologist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner. Embrace a healthier, more empowered relationship with food as you embark on this journey of self-discovery and well-being.”
Written by Diane Tuerke, Registered Kinesiologist, Certified Nutritional Practitioner, for Athletes Kitchen.
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