Emotional, Habitual, External: How Your Eating Style Is Sabotaging Your Diet

"For emotional eaters, food is closely linked to how you feel. Happiness is celebrated with food—and when things go wrong, you console yourself with food. The problem here, is emotional eating never solves your problems. It just creates one, with food," Lamm says. 

Sound like you?

He adds, "Keep a food journal—listing what you eat and how you were feeling when you ate it. This will identify what feelings trigger you to eat and what need you're really feeding."

"Habitual eaters like routine and structure, and know how to eat right and exercise regularly," Lamm says. "What derails you are time constraints and responsibilities. They often keep you from following through with diet and exercise programs. Some habitual eaters also eat when they aren't hungry, simply because it is what they're used to doing. Your eating style keeps you from working up a normal appetite and eating on schedule."

Sound like you?

Lamm suggests, "Take an organised approach to healthy eating. This might involve premeasured portions, predefined mealtimes, and even preset menus."

"External eaters overeat because they're triggered by external cues: cupcakes in the display window, food advertising, restaurant offerings, etc. All of this adds to the pressure or desire to overeat," Lamm says.

Sound like you?

"Create a distraction—distractions interrupt you and allow the craving to pass. Make sure to snack right: Very often, a small amount of healthful food can take away the pang. Lastly, keep treats that make you binge out of your house (you can't eat what's not there)," he adds.

"You tend to be obsessive about diets and dieting. You're among those to whom dieting, to some degree, has become a religion. When dieting, you're considered 'good,' when you fall off the wagon, you're 'bad.' This is a form of all-or-nothing thinking," Lamm says.

Sound like you?

Lamm suggests, "Ease up on rigid food rules—concentrate less on what not to eat and more on getting enough fruits and vegetables. Also, give yourself a break! If you slip up, restart your day. Don't allow a whole day to be lost to defeatist thinking."

"You appreciate and relish every bite. You're a bit of a thrill-seeker, always on the lookout for meals more complex and intriguing than your last. You love and appreciate food to the point that you'll try anything—and wouldn't dare turn away a good brown butter sauce. Your body wears excess weight because the pleasure you find in eating overrides what you know is responsible and safe decision-making," Lamm says. 

Sound like you?

He suggests, "When you dine out, don't deny yourself a particular item. Rather, watch portions. Eat slowly. It takes your brain at least 20 minutes to signal that your stomach is full."

"You do something most people don't: You listen to your hunger," Lamm says. "But, by eating more fast-acting carbohydrates (bread, crackers, museli bars), you consume far more calories than you need, while increasing your insulin production, which will, in turn, cause more hunger."

Sound like you?

Lamm says, "If cravings strike only occasionally, go ahead and eat a small portion without guilt. You're more likely to be satisfied with a small amount of the real thing. However, those cravings can be helped by a change in eating habits. Spread out the foods you love to eat into three meals, with low-fat vegetables or fruit snacks as needed in between for hunger."