Week #5: Outsmarting Eating Triggers

EatingWell Diet Challenge
Week #1: Are You Ready for a Change?
Week #2: Set Goals
Week #3: Boost Exercise
Week #4: Make Smart Choices
Week #5: Outsmarting Eating Triggers
Week #6: Get support
Week #7: Recharge Your Weight Loss
Week #8: Embrace Challenges
Week #9: Solve Problems
Week #10: Think Big Picture
Week #11: Be Nice to Yourself
Week #12: Celebrate Success

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What makes you eat—and overeat? Each of us has different triggers and some may be more obvious than others. Writing down or “journaling” about not only what you eat, but also where, how and with whom you eat, can help you identify the situations and foods that are overeating triggers for you.

Once you know what these triggers are, you can figure out how to deal with them. For example, if reviewing your food diaries reveals a habit of munching on cookies and potato chips late at night, you might learn to keep healthier snacks, such as popcorn, on hand and to budget for those calories so you can enjoy your late-night snack and still meet your daily calorie goal. If you realize that every time you drive by the bakery you have to stop and buy yourself a giant scone, you might think about taking a different route to work.

But the first step is figuring out what fuels your overindulgence. Read the articles below to figure out your triggers and how to cope with them.

Articles, tips and community discussion:

* Figure out what your triggers are and learn easy strategies to cope
* Get a (nonfood) life
* How to eat: 7 simple tactics for cutting calories without changing what you eat
* 4 diet derailers to watch out for
* Life in the fast (food) lane
* Learn how to eat mindfully
* Find out why mindful eating could be the secret to weight-loss success
* Quick weight-loss tips
* Community discussion: What are your eating triggers?

Tools to help you this week:

Track Your Weight

Photo Caption: Don't let high-calorie snacks derail your weight loss goals. Choose satisfying low-cal snacks such as Cheesy Popcorn, at 75 calories per serving.