The backdrop: My failure-free habit constellation, part four.

It's time now for two posts about the habit constellation and its background.  Background first.

The habits that make up my failure-free constellation are visible as things I have to do deliberately against a backdrop of habits I barely notice anymore.  Maybe some of these are your backdrop too.  Maybe some could be.  Maybe some would be part of your habit constellation.  Anyway, all of the following are my backdrop now.   

Feature 1.  I drink mostly water, black coffee, and black tea.  I think of caloric beverages as "food" and am used to making allowances for them.  Milk in my tea means I've had a snack.  I think of an evening beer as part of my dinner, and automatically adjust my intake.

Feature 2.  I buy, prepare and eat abnormally large portions of vegetables.  It's not unusual for me to eat a salad the size of the Kitchen-Aid mixer bowl, or 3/4 of a pound of brussels sprouts, as part of one meal.  I'm used to the bulk of my meals being vegetables:  50--75%.  The easiest way to add them, I am still convinced, is to buy frozen bags of vegetables and serve them simply steamed, perhaps with a bit of butter or soy sauce or something.  Whatever you were going to make anyway, then add one bag of frozen vegetables.  I know it's kind of boring, but it cuts down on the work.

Feature 3.  I use small plates at home.   8 1/2" dinner plates at most meals.  

Feature 4.  I am habitually wary of sugar, "white" carbohydrates, and even overlarge portions of whole grains.  I know I tend to eat too much of these things once I get started, and I have established a habit of saving these indulgences for things I really enjoy eating.  I have them, but I guess you could say I'm always sort of careful about them.

Feature 5.  We buy only a very limited selection of prepared snack food.  We stick to the old standards and rarely try new ones.   One brand of tortilla chips, one brand of crackers, one brand of granola bars.  Nothing coated with flavored powder of any kind is in our house.  

Feature 6.  I keep a healthful, macronutrient-balanced snack in my car at all times.  It never seems necessary to buy food when I'm out.  (I didn't say it never seems tempting, just that it never seems necessary.)  Probably several different things could have fit the bill; I went with the most convenient choice for me, a jar of almonds.

Feature 7.  I step on the scale every morning.

My point here:  These are the things I stick to every single day, without any effort.  I'd be lying if I told you I control my weight by regularly avoiding seconds, or not eating snacks, or measuring stuff, on a daily basis.  (And while it's true that I don't buy junk food, if you GAVE me a bag of Chee-tos I'd probably eat it.)

 Mostly I eat what I want, when I want, particularly if my weight has not been creeping up.  But these seven habits have stuck with me, are part of my daily routine, and (I think) set me apart from the average person and from my former self.  

As I've said before, though, when I need to drop a couple of pounds, I have to add more habits, ones that aren't second nature and that I don't prefer to use ALL the time.   Those are in another post:  part five.

Comments

[4ddintx]

Some of these are my habits, some aren't. I was wondering if it was an adjustment to go to black coffee? I've always used half-n-half in my coffee. I do unsweetened iced tea and *can* do black hot tea, but black coffee...makes sense but I'm not there yet.

[bearing]

I've never drunk coffee any way than black, sorry. Let me offer a couple of suggestions, though.

(1) Wean yourself off of sugar and half-and-half. Sugar first; half-and-half is arguably nutritious. Begin by measuring what you usually put in, and set a goal to decrease that. Go slowly, say 1/8 tsp sugar at a time.

(2) Have you tried xylitol or "TruVia" yet? I think both work pretty well in tea as a sweetener.

(3) Drink your coffee as you like, just remember that it counts as some of your food.

[4ddintx]

I prefer coffee and don't sweeten that at all, so that's not an issue (yeah!). Measuring the half-n-half should be the first step, I guess.