Jennifer Nelson

My parents insisted I sit at the dinner table every night until my plate was clean. Since I was a picky eater, I was often parked there until bedtime trying to choke down lima beans or slices of dry, cold roast beef and curdled gravy.

Though parents like mine wanted the best for their kids, scenes like this have created a mental tickertape of rigid food rules and regulations that runs through the minds of scores of women today. The trouble is, most of them are outdated and can work against us now. “We’ve learned that most diets that are too restrictive backfire,” says Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietician and an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman who has a Master’s in public health nutrition.

It’s time to stop buying into the “can’t have that, must eat this” diet mentality. So here’s how to escape your childhood eating habits and forge a healthy new relationship with food.

Childhood Rule: Celebrate or Soothe With Ice Cream

Did you celebrate every “A” with two scoops? Did you soothe skinned knees or tattered feelings with a bag of chips? Me, too. But kids who are rewarded or comforted with food are more likely to binge-eat as adults, according to a study from Yale University. Treating every good grade or bad day with food becomes a form of medication that leads to emotional eating.

Healthy New Habit: Enjoy Other Treats

Stressed? Practice feeding yourself with another activity. When you have a bad day, go for a bike ride or out for a hike with the dog. Landing the lead in the community theatre production calls for a romp in the park, not a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. And a fight with your mom means a good cry, a long talk with a gal pal or a movie night.

Childhood Rule: No Junk Food Allowed

At the other end of the spectrum are women who were never allowed to have treats as kids. When you’re not allowed to eat any junk foods, they become forbidden fruit -- and the focus of our attention. While you want to eat healthfully most of the time, learning how to eat junk food without guilt and in moderation is a necessary survival skill in the real world, says Giancoli.

Healthy New Habit: Have Your Cake … and Eat It Once in a While

Children who don’t learn how to handle chips, ice cream and candy early on often become adults who get into trouble with them later. If you’ve established a negative attitude or declared an all-out ban on junk food, you may have set the stage for eating and weight-loss woes -- not to mention a lot of stress surrounding food. Rather than avoid these items, try not to make treats or junk food a big deal; you’ll give them too much power. Instead, make some guidelines as to how many treats you’ll have and when (e.g., at parties, holidays or birthdays).

Childhood Rule: Clean Your Plate

Being pushed to eat every bite teaches kids to ignore fullness signals and blow past their natural feelings of satiety, setting them up for a lifetime of overeating.

Healthy New Habit: Learn When You’re Full

An empty plate shouldn’t tell you how you feel. The best way to know when you’re done is to eat slowly and savor your meals, putting the fork down between bites. This gives your stomach the 20 minutes it needs to signal the brain it’s full so you can stop eating before you’re stuffed. It’s important to learn that feeling sated means you could eat a little more, but you don’t need to.

Childhood Rule: No Snacking Between Meals

As most of us learn from experience, a moratorium on snacking usually backfires -- decreasing your energy, increasing your crankiness and opening the door to a binge. “But by allowing small portions of foods between meals, it can actually help with weight loss because you don’t get too hungry and overeat later,” says Giancoli.

Healthy New Habit: Don’t Go Hungry

Eating a healthy snack helps keep energy high and blood sugar from dropping too low between meals. Aim for a 200-calorie choice that combines carbs with protein, such as cheese with crackers, or peanut butter on an apple.

 

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Health - Get Over Your Childhood Eating Habits