You’re a dude. Or a girl who acts like one. Which means you act in a certain way, have certain idiosyncratic approaches to eating and nutrition that most likely hamper and hinder your desire to lose weight. What are you doing wrong? Why is it so hard to shed those stubborn pounds? Maybe your habits need some changing. Let’s take a close look at your guy habits that seem normal, and see if they might just be tripping you up!

Speed Eating

I know I’m guilty of this one. If I’m hungry, and there are four delicious tacos on my plate, rich and hot and ready for the eating, I’ll do just that: eat them, and fast. So you cram it all in your maw, chortling at your good fortune and licking your lips, the whole plate clean in less than two minutes. Yum! And yes, suddenly your tummy is bulging and huge. And you’re stuffed, absolutely gorged. How did you get here? By eating too fast. Your brain didn’t have time to react to all the food you were busy fisting into your mouth, so by the time it could send out signals telling you to stop, it was too late; you’d already eaten too much. So slow down! Eat slower, savor your food, so that your brain has a chance to make you quit when you’ve had enough. Also, eating slow helps you not look like a starving dog.

Skipping Meals

So you’re a busy guy. Running around, getting things done, surfing, waxing down your surfboard, talking to surfer chicks, scoping out the waves. Busy. You don’t have time for every meal, in fact, it’s kind of cool and tough to skip the occasional one, mind over body, right? Plus that way you get to eat a huge lunch or dinner or whatever, and show the other guys what a huge, raving, healthy appetite you’ve got. Good idea? No. Bad idea. Because not only will you then make the mistakes from Speed Eating above (eating too much, Mr. Pig-a-lot-osaurus), but your energy levels will be spiking, your brain deprived of a continuous amount of glucose, so that you think resources are scarce and gorge on your next meal. Don’t do this! Eat regularly so as to maintain a regular appetite.

Scarfing Down Salty Snacks

Salt has a chemical effect on our brains. It stimulates pleasure in our brains, leading to addiction and eating much more of the salty stuff than you had intended. Salty foods activate the release of opiods (yes, that’s exactly what you think it is, dude) linked with reward. The more salt, the more your brain pats itself on the head. As a result, vicious drug dependency cycle begins, resulting in your eating all of the popcorn in that gargantuan bag, in devouring all the peanuts at the bar, or finishing all the pretzels. And there goes your nutrition plan. So! Cut back on salt! Cut back, cook the occasional meal without, don’t sprinkle it on stuff, and be aware if your snack is super salty.

Author Bio: Get yourself something yummy AND nutritious, like a P90X Recovery Drink. Fantastic for easing soreness post workout, and will help you bounce back fresher for your next gym workout. Even better, get your meaty paws on a meal replacement shake like Shakeology, and get all the nutrition and fancy nutritional stuff like vitamins and minerals!

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: junk food,diet tips,losing weight,obesity,fat,nutrition plans,food,diet plans,fat loss,weight loss