Practice Eating Skills Instead of Diets

Just as many exercise practices can be overly challenging and lead to burnout, so too can many common dieting practices. Diets that restrict entire food groups or limit calories excessively may not be sustainable. These types of diets often don’t fit well into busy lifestyles and rarely account for personal food preferences.

Practicing skills that improve your food choices and eating habits is a more sustainable approach that allows you to maintain health and performance without restrictions. For example, developing skills such as grocery shopping and list-making can help you to keep more nutritious foods available and at the ready, which makes it easier to make positive choices.

Eating more slowly and mindfully is also an effective strategy to increase your satisfaction with meals so that you feel less hungry prior to your next meal. Practicing skills such as turning off screens and other distractions while eating, putting your utensils down between bites of food, and utilizing all of your senses can help you to consume more appropriate portions without feeling like certain foods are off-limits.