Are You Guilty of These 7 Worst Eating Habits?

Some of the worst eating habits aren’t what you eat specifically, but your thoughts, feelings, and actions around eating.

It’s sort of like understanding that it isn’t necessarily the words that are said during an argument, but how they’re delivered, that can have more of a negative impact on a person.

Or on a more positive note, it’s not necessarily the amount of time you ran a 5K in, but the fact you put in the work, enjoyed the process, and felt pride in completing it.

Regarding eating habits, it’s easy enough to be told what foods you should avoid, but unless you work on the thoughts, feelings and actions around eating, those “bad eating habits” won’t be fully addressed.

So, I’d like you to gain some awareness of your own eating habits — plus, see what your answer is to the question, “Are you guilty of these 7 worst eating habits?”

#1 Continuing to Eat Despite Feeling Full

This is the definition of overeating.

It might be the worst eating habit, for a few reasons. The first being it only has one instance where it could be beneficial.

This would be if you were starving and had minimal access to food, so you wanted to eat as much as you could for survival.

This is not the case for you, since you have access to food any time you need or want it.

Another reason is that it results in physical discomfort and usually also negative thoughts and feelings afterward. The discomfort being stomach pain, bloating, tightness of your pants, etc.

Examples of the negative thoughts might be, “I shouldn’t have eaten that much,” “why did I do that?” or “no wonder I can’t lose weight” (maybe even worse).

Examples of negative feelings that can result from those thoughts are disappointment, confusion, frustration, helplessness, etc.

It is very easy to continue eating despite being full, partly due to how tasty foods have become since our more primitive days. Which is why it’s a common eating habit and oftentimes leads to weight gain and health issues.

#2 Eating to “Feel Better”

The reason why I put “feel better” in quotes is because you don’t really feel better after eating.

This is a false pleasure, meaning the food doesn’t provide you real pleasure. It’s only providing a short-lived release of dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, also known as a hormone. Think of it as a messenger that aids in communication between neurons (nerve cells).

You may have heard me mention neural pathways (or neuropathways) before, which are simply the communication pathways between neurons.

Neural pathways are involved in every thought, feeling and action, therefore play a large role in habits. (I know I’m getting a little “science-y” with you, but the next few sentences will bring it together.)

That quick release of dopamine makes you feel good just in the moment — the kind of “feel good” after you’ve received a reward for a job well done, which of course makes you want to do the action again (so you receive the reward again).

This is ultimately what results in a habit. You perform a behavior (or action) enough times and it becomes a habit. Dopamine is an integral part of this process.

So, eating to “feel better” doesn’t truly result in you feeling better, but it does result in aiding with the formation of a habit, one you may not want to keep.

#3 Eating Foods You Hate

Yes, you read that correctly. As an eating habit coach, I believe that eating foods you hate (or strongly dislike) is one of the worst eating habits to have.

Here are my main reasons why:

  • There are plenty of other foods you can get nutrients from.
  • You’ll likely not be able to be able to stick to the new habit of eating that “healthy food” if it’s that difficult to do.
  • You won’t get any sort of immediate reward from it (which is required for it to become a new, healthy eating habit).
  • You’ll feel obligated, which is never a good feeling.

You might be asking, “well, why would you eat a food you hate?” Many people eat foods that they hate or strongly dislike because they’ve been told they “should” because they’re “good for you.”

They have a hard time sticking with it and then can get frustrated or disappointed in themselves for not being able to stick with the healthy food that was recommended.

This is never good.

Have you ever tried eating a food multiple times that you really didn’t like, just because it was classified as “healthy”?

For me, it’s bananas. I don’t like them.

I have eaten so many, trying to like them and the more I eat, the more I realize I don’t like them. So, I finally stopped and I feel so much better.

No more self-inflicted pressure or feelings of obligation to eat bananas.

#4 Eating Just Because Everyone Else Is

Eating just because everyone else is makes the cut for one the 7 worst eating habits because you aren’t eating for a reason that really benefits you.

If you only eating something because other people are, that means you aren’t eating for the calories, nourishment, or even the false pleasure — you’re just mirroring other people’s actions.

Meaning, you’re eating simply because they are.

Some examples of where this may occur are:

  • At a restaurant where everyone else is ordering dessert, and although you didn’t intend to, you do too.
  • At a business meeting where everyone is eating the appetizers and you intended to just stick with your meal, but find yourself eating the appetizers you didn’t really want to eat.
  • At a party where everyone is eating chips, so you find yourself reaching into the bowl as well.
  • At an office birthday party where they’re handing out slices of birthday cake and you feel bad declining, so you accept.

You may think the people around you care what or if you’re eating, but in reality, they don’t.

They’re enjoying their food, regardless of if you eat it too.

In some cases, a person may try to convince you to eat something, but that’s only because he or she is getting enjoyment from the food and want to feel connected when you eat that food and share the same enjoyment. (This is just a natural, primitive human desire.)

The point is, eat when you need/want to, not because you think you “should” socially, and certainly not for anyone else’s perceived pleasure.

#5 Not Eating Despite Multiple Hunger Signals

I’m not talking about not eating despite a little “hunger pang” in your stomach, I’m talking about MULTIPLE hunger signals.

When you have multiple hunger signals (due to a hormone called ghrelin), your brain is essentially screaming, “you need calories and/or nutrients!”

That’s the whole purpose of eating food — to get calories for energy and nutrients for body and brain function.

So, if you’re ignoring multiple signals combined, routinely, you’re likely not getting the calories or nutrients you need.

Now, unless your healthcare provider has instructed you do go into a severe calorie deficit due to a medical condition (usually not the case), then I recommend paying attention to your body and what it needs.

Some examples of hunger signals include:

  • stomach discomfort
  • stomach “growling”
  • headache
  • nausea
  • lightheadedness
  • shakiness
  • low energy/fatigue
  • dizziness
  • weakness
  • difficulty focusing
  • grumpiness or feeling “hangry”

What are the hunger signals you tend to experience yourself?

Mine are stomach discomfort, “growling” and nausea, and in severe cases, grumpiness too.

As soon as the grumpiness comes on, that’s my cue to find some calories/nutrients fast. I just make sure that it’s never food I’ll regret later. (I’d rather not swap feelings of grumpiness, for the negative feeling of regret.)

You always want to make sure you listen to your body and brain cues for when you are hungry. Ignoring multiple signals can lead to negative consequences that can potentially be dangerous. Such as too low of blood sugar, fainting, falling, etc.

Your health comes first, which is why not eating despite multiple hunger signals is definitely one of the worst eating habits you can have, especially as a busy career woman with lots of things to do and accomplish.

#6 Not Paying Attention While Eating

This is also known as “mindless eating.” Mindless eating simply means you aren’t paying attention to the act of eating (or your body).

The reason why this makes the list of 7 worst eating habits is because you can end up overeating quite easily and you don’t really get to enjoy the process of eating.

I know I mentioned that food is a “false pleasure”, but it’s still a nice thing to have some pleasure in the moment — just realize that it’s short-term and never long-lasting.

Why you may end up overeating is because when you aren’t paying attention, you can easily eat more volume than you intended, and you may end up missing the signals your body sends to your brain indicating you’ve had enough.

Some examples of scenarios where you may be mindlessly eating are:

  • Snacking while watching a movie
  • Eating while reading
  • Eating while socializing at a party or event
  • Snacking while working on your laptop
  • Eating while deep in thought
  • Snacking while driving

I’m not saying you should never do these things, but if you have a habit of any of them, it may be time to consider changing that habit, and the first step is awareness.

So, do you pay attention to what and how much you’re eating every time you eat? Or do you habitually eat while doing a specific activity or activities?

If so, which activity or activities, and how might you change that if you want to?

For me, it’s snacking (usually something salty or sweet) while watching a show or listening to records at night with hubby.

I decided that although it’s a habit, it’s one I decided to keep, because I control my portions, usually by putting the snack in a ramekin (a tiny bowl used for making things like soufflés — yum!).

#7 Eating Mostly Highly Processed Foods

This makes up the last in the list of worst eating habits, because although it’s a specific food category, it’s the “mostly” that matters.

When your day or days consist of eating a processed food, I certainly wouldn’t classify that as “bad.” It’s when most of your diet consists of processed or highly processed foods, that you may want to think about breaking the habit.

So what are processed foods anyway?

These are just foods that are not in their whole food form (are mechanically or chemically broken down, manipulated, etc.).

There are varying degrees of processing that occurs and highly processed food examples are baked goods, ice cream, potato chips, sausage, deli meats, candy, protein bars, you probably get the idea.

The reasons why processed foods aren’t great, are that the more processed they are, the lower the nutrients tend to be and the higher the not-so-good-for-you additives tend to be.

Therefore a diet consisting of mostly processed foods, especially ones that are highly processed, means your body isn’t getting what it needs and may also be getting things that are potentially harmful.

Final Note

So are you able to answer the question, “are you guilty of these 7 worst eating habits?” If the answer is yes, don’t worry, you aren’t doomed. It’s actually a great thing that you’re now aware.

Awareness is always needed in order to make ANY change.

It may seem like it’s impossible to change your bad eating habits, but it’s not. Just as you were able to make those eating behaviors a habit, you can also make new healthier eating behaviors a habit too.

When you create new eating habits, the old ones start weakening, until they eventually break.

Kate Johnston, Certified Habit Coach, Physician Assistant

KATE JOHNSTON

Eating Habits & Weight Loss Coach, PA-C

Helping career women, including women in healthcare lose weight sustainably, by breaking bad eating habits.

Start your transformation with clarity, insight, and direction by booking a free consultation with me below.

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