Set a timer and slow down.

Growing up, my parents taught me how to ride a bike. They helped me with my homework, taught me how to keep things clean and encouraged me to build healthy relationships. Those are all life skills I've used to thrive. They didn't help me understand more about the food I needed to survive.

Don't get me wrong; my parents taught me the basics. We should all eat less junk food. Fruit and vegetables are good for you. But the important stuff like how to deal with cravings, stress eating, unhealthy snacking or just how to slow down when I eat were things they didn't understand.

Here are three important things I wish every person learned about food.

Emotional eating and cravings are cited as one of the biggest reasons people overeat. The solution that works best for me is to track behavior. Do you grab a snack after staying up late and binge-watching TV? Do you reach for empty calories a couple of hours after lunch? Are you triggered by things you see, hear or smell? Here's what to do.

For 30 days, keep a list of all the things that make you want to eat outside regular mealtimes. Look for patterns and name the things that repeat. Once you identify the things that are causing problems, you can take action to disrupt the patterns. Here are three steps that work for me.

Meal planning can be tricky. You don't have to plan out every calorie for the next two weeks, but you need to take more time than scanning the kitchen for something that interests you.

Start by planning just two meals. Remember, this doesn't have to be an exercise in creativity. If you want to eat the same things daily, that's OK as long as it fulfills the nutritional requirements you have for those meals.

If you enjoy cooking, you might prepare an egg-white omelet for breakfast. If you're always running out the door, perhaps some low-sugar oatmeal packets you can microwave will do the trick.

For lunch, you might make a sandwich the night before. I like to make a larger batch of food and freeze individual servings that I can reheat.

Whatever your choices are, make it a habit by buying and preparing things, so healthier options are available. After a month of planning out two meals, expand to three or four. I find it's much easier when I choose things the day before.

Don't stress yourself by trying to plan an entire week. One day at a time works wonders. When things get crazy, it's one less thing I have to concern myself with. Plus, if you plan just one day ahead, it allows you to adjust for the weekend, parties or a night out with friends or loved ones.

Slow down how fast you eat, and you can double the benefit of those previous steps.

It takes 15 to 20 minutes after you've started eating for your brain to get the message about what's happening. It takes time for the nerve stretch receptors to react and the ghrelin production to ease. Fast eaters that finish their meal in 5 minutes will continue to get a "hungry" feeling for at least another 10 to 15 minutes. Give in to that temporary sensation, and you'll probably overeat.

Slowing down gives you time to appreciate the food while giving your body time to catch up with what's happening.

If you must eat on the run, there is an option. Eat your meal at your normal pace, but set a timer to go off in 25 minutes. If you're still hungry when the alarm rings, you may not have taken in enough calories. But if you're like most people, when that alarm rings, you'll realize you're not really hungry after all.

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8/18/2022
Updated 12/27/2022