I have recently noticed three very bad behaviors that I have developed throughout my lifetime that definitely effect my weight.

#1 - Socializing and celebrating always seems to involve food. This is a terrible behavior for me. I think for myself it causes equating food with happiness. This is definitely a change I am trying to make. It's okay for others to eat and drink, but it does not mean that I have to. I should not allow myself to be pressured into eating to socialize.

#2 - Advertising can be my worst enemy. The past week I have had a horrible time controlling my appetite and have been eating things that are harmful to my progress. During one of my nights of struggling, I was crocheting and watching some television before bed and everytime commercials come on they involve food (pizza, subs, cookies, etc.). Flip channels and there they are again.

#3 - What a "meal" constitutes. I live in the middle of the rural Midwest. This is meat and potatoes country and we don't have a lot of chain restuarants (mostly family owned cafes). It seems that anywhere you go the meals consist of meat, potato or rice, salad and bread. I actually feel guilty not eating the meal that I am paying for because I was raised not to be wasteful. I have to readjust my thinking to the fact that it is more wasteful to eat something that my body does not need than it is to throw it away.

I don't know if this information will help anyone else, but I am glad to be able to start recognizing some of these negative behaviors so that I can start working toward more positive behaviors.