Food Habits

By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center

Published: November 21, 2009

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Habits are an interesting part of weight loss. Most of our good and bad habits have been developed over a lifetime of eating. To establish a habit, we first have to consider 3 aspects: the antecedents, the stimulus and the response. Antecedents are all the things that have to be in place for a food to be on our plate and then eat it. Eating it is the stimulus and the feelings we get from it are the response. Basically, if the response is positive it leads to more eating. If the result is negative, we eat less of it.

Our greatest success in changing our food related habits will be to break the chain of antecedents. For example, to eat ice cream there is a full set of events. One has to have extra money, then have a car, drive the car to the store, walk into the store, choose ice cream, buy the ice cream, drive it home, place it in the freezer, and then later remember the ice cream, scoop out a bit to a bowl, then finally eat it.

At any point in the chain this set of events could be broken. You may have a list that says what you were exactly going to buy and ice cream was not on it. You may have not been home when the ice cream craving hit. You may have had an apple instead for your hunger. Someone else may have eaten it first. You may have followed your rule for not eating in front of the TV, or after 9pm. You may have gone for a walk to decrease your stress instead of eating. This is just a simple example to illustrate that many things that led to eating ice cream.

Where would it have made sense for YOU to break the chain of events?

nick weight loss before and after scottsdale weight loss center

Nick's Story

"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More

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Lost 44.5 lbs

"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.

I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More

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Lost 60 lbs

"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More

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Lost 66 lbs

"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.

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Lost 101 lbs

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