How to Avoid Food Traps

By Sara Butler

Food traps are everywhere. What’s a food trap? They are places or situations that can make it difficult to continue healthy eating practices. But have no fear! There are some simple ways to avoid food traps. Here are a few to help you spot and navigate them.

Food Trap No. 1: Holidays, Vacations, and Family Gatherings

These are exciting occasions, but they’re also food traps! In each situation, remember to:

• On vacation – Don’t take a vacation from exercise and healthy eating when you’re on vacation. You should plan your meals ahead of time and prepare your own food when possible. You should also stay active and carve out a little time for fitness.
• Holidays – Try not to overeat and keep your health and fitness goals in mind when you make choices about what you and your family eat. It’s OK to indulge in one meal, but don’t make it an all day or all week celebration!
• Other family gatherings – At your next family reunion or event, try to eat smaller portions. It’s also important to let your family know of your health and wellness goals so they can support you to make good choices.

Food Trap No. 2: Snacks

When you snack, you have to make sure you’re doing out of true hunger and not because you’re stressed or simply bored. To help keep snack time in check, you should:

• Keep healthy snacks on hand
• Keep yourself busy so you don’t give into mindless snacking
• Eat three balanced meals per day
• Stay hydrated

Food Trap No. 3: Not Having Enough Time

Life is busy and making time to prepare and eat healthy meals isn’t always going to work. But there are some things you can do to help mitigate the hectic times in your life to ensure that you can keep your health and fitness goals a priority. You should:

• Make a plan – Sit down and plan your meals out a week in advance. Do as much prep as you can so there’s less to do when you go to cook it or cook in large batches and freeze leftovers for later.
• Take it easy – Don’t make your dinner complicated. Keep it simple and it’ll be easy to eat right.

Proper nutrition is essential to your overall health, so make sure to keep focused and find ways to make any situation work. Food traps won’t get the best of you!