For many of us who are trying to lose pregnancy weight, we know what we should be doing but it’s not always easy to actually do it.
For instance we know we shouldn’t buy a bag of Doritos when we do the grocery shopping; or grab a sweet (giant) muffin from the café; or keep big tubs of ice cream in the freezer to tempt us. These things aren’t going to help us lose pregnancy weight. So why can’t we stop doing it?
Sometimes it’s these bad habits that are the hardest ones to break, because we’ve been doing them for so long.
The first step to breaking a bad habit is to recognise it in the first place.
So have a good think about your typical week and see if you can spot certain areas where you tend to slip up. Keeping a food diary for a week can really help with this.
For instance you might notice that you often make poor food choices when you are stressed, doing a certain task like buying petrol, or busy making dinner, or tired, or when you meet up with a certain friend.
But once you’ve noticed the bad habits, what can you do about them?
Follow our advice below to turn these old habits into positive ones that can help you with your pregnancy weight loss instead of hindering it.
Go a different way
If you are often tempted by the bakery’s sausage rolls when you go for a walk on the weekend, why not change your route?
Sure it might seem a bit drastic to avoid the bakery altogether, but if this is really becoming a bad habit then the old ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality can really help.
Change the timing
If you often grab a chocolate bar when you fill up with petrol in the afternoons to help you get some energy, why not change the time that you complete that task?
For instance it’s unlikely that you would feel like eating a chocolate bar if you’ve just had your breakfast, so why not always fill up the car first thing in the morning so that the craving isn’t there.
Take an alternative
If you can’t resist the sweet sugary banana bread at the café with your morning coffee, take a healthy option in your bag that you can enjoy with your caffeine fix.
Make sure it’s something healthy but equally as delicious so that you don’t feel as though you are missing out.
We love this Wholemeal Date, Banana and Apple Bread as it is super healthy but doesn’t contain all the butter and sugar of a typical banana bread.
Change your routine
If you often find yourself mindlessly snacking while you are preparing dinner for the family, why not change the way you do things.
Try to push out the time of your afternoon tea so that you aren’t starving while you make dinner.
Or chop up some carrot sticks that you can nibble on while you prepare the meal. Being prepared is the first step to taking back the control of the situation.
Switch the setting
If you find yourself always indulging in chocolate mud cake when you meet a friend for coffee, why not change the meeting point so that it’s not even on the menu?
You might be able to grab take away coffees and meet for a walk instead of staying at the café. Or meet at a juice bar that serves coffee (and nothing unhealthy) so that you aren’t tempted.
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