Find out how to avoid behaviors that can harm your health and weight loss
A survey conducted by Sodexo, a French multinational food company, showed that 90% of Brazilians prefer a diet considered healthy. However, despite the growing discussion about the search for a perfect diet, especially on social media, the intense search for an ideal body, impeccable physical and mental health, has led many people to adopt careful behaviors, without knowing how, how much and what to eat.
Knowing this, Maria Cláudia Hauschild, health specialist at BurnUp, lists below 5 behaviors that, although common, indicate that something may not be right in your relationship with healthy eating. Check!
1. Think about food all day
According to the expert, continuously research (and/or save) recipes, whether healthy or not, thinking about what you ate, what you should or shouldn’t have eaten, what you will eat or what you would like to have eaten, even if you have just eaten , this may indicate that you are hungry and/or eating less than you should.
When you limit food, the organism uses a series of adaptive mechanisms to defend itself from this “lack of food”, even if this restriction be self-imposed. “Remember, a healthy diet also involves consuming enough food. So, the more I limit myself, the more my body will push me to look for food and, normally, the desire is for more palatable and high-calorie foods”, explains the nutritionist.
2. Count the calories of everything you eat
According to Maria Cláudia Hauschild, normally people count calories to achieve a calorie deficit and, consequently, lose weight, but this does not help in the search for a healthy diet; Conversely, excessive worry about what and how much you eat may be an indication that your relationship with food is unhealthy. “We are not a machine that is satisfied only to receive the necessary ‘calories’. We are human beings who have desires and it is normal to eat for reasons other than physiological ones,” he adds.
3. Classify right and wrong foods
It is easy to fall into the behavior of classifying foods as right or wrong, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. Normally, this classification occurs exclusively based on its nutritional (and caloric) value, without taking into account, for example, the time the food was consumed, the quantity, among other factors.
However, according to the professional, this dietary dichotomy often leads people to stop eating the foods they like or, when they eat, they feel very guilty, thinking they have done something wrong. Therefore it is always very important to remember that a healthy diet involves various aspects, in addition to the biological ones. It is an action that also expresses cultural, social, emotional and sensorial values.
4. Weigh yourself every day
It’s no news that, for many people, thinness is synonymous with health, success, beauty and even willpower. For this reason, some people end up seeking very strict control of their weight, evaluating their success and health only by the number that appears on the scale and weighing themselves daily.
“It is important to know that our body weight varies, this variation in weight does not mean that the person has gained or lost “x” grams. It is simply a normal variation in weight, which occurs during the day and week and is simply it tells you if you are lighter or not”, reinforces the nutritionist.
5. Compensatory behaviors
When we talk about food and the ideal body, compensatory behaviors are normally implemented prevent weight gain. They appear in different forms and are often common behaviors, but they can be highly harmful to mental and physical health. Some examples include:
- Going to the gym excessively and solely to burn calories from something you have eaten or will eat;
- Skipping meals, for example not having lunch because there is a party in the evening, or only eating salad at dinner because you “overdoed it” at lunch;
- Taking medications (without medical advice) to prevent weight gain;
- Fasting excessively or even adhering to very restrictive diets, with the aim of rapidly reducing weight.
According to Maria Cláudia Hauschild, compensatory behaviors can cause damage to people’s social, professional and other areas of life. Furthermore, they can damage the relationship with food and the body, impact mental health, leading to feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety and cause the individual to disconnect from hunger and satiety signals, which can cause physical harm, such as gastrointestinal damage and cardiovascular disorders, malnutrition and dental problems. “It is important to always remember that eating is a biopsychosociocultural act and that a healthy diet must take into account not only its nutritional composition”, concludes the specialist.
By Isabel Bergami
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
