Sure, unhealthy eating habits can cause everything from weight gain to sluggishness. The good news: With minimal effort, you can make up for most not-so-good food decisions…

Bad food habit: You’re never not eating

For you, chewing is like breathing. And since you probably lose track of how much and what you’ve eaten, all that endless crunching and munching adds up.

Read more: 7 ways to shift those last few stubborn kilos, according to a dietitian

Your problem is more about fidgeting than eating. So try drinking tea or sparkling water as a kilojoule-free way to keep your hands and pie-hole occupied between meals.

When liquid won’t do, go for healthy snacks that require some work to get at – pistachio nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds still in their shells all take time to open. You’ll spend more minutes cracking and cleaning up than actually eating, says dietitian Cynthia Sass.

And stockpile other no-pudge goodies that you can eat in tiny, individual pieces. We like low-fat popcorn or fat-free, wasabi-flavoured Japanese rice crackers.

Bad food habit: You pack it in till it hurts

That whole “enjoy just one bite” advice makes you roll your eyes as you dig into your third piece of a colleague’s birthday cake. Occasional gluttony has its place, but an all-you-can-eat-all-the-time attitude can cause indigestion, acid reflux and bloating, says dietitian Amy Campbell.

Read more: These are the 20 best fat-burning foods of all time

Stuff yourself with foods that contain fewer kilojoules per bite. These tend to have a higher water and fibre content, so they fill you up quicker, says Campbell.

Go ahead: Tuck into soups (stock-based, not cream-based), garden salads (carrots, cucumbers, celery, lettuce, tomatoes and green beans), gazpacho, fat-free or low-fat yoghurt or cottage cheese, apples and pears, whole-grain cereals with fat-free or low-fat milk and grilled lean meats (chicken and ostrich) or seafood (white fish, like hake and kingklip, preferably steamed).

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

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