The Eating Habit Test (What's wrong with my diet?)

What's wrong with my diet?

The Eating Habit Test is a test for people of all ages. The results are divided into six dimensions: picky eating, overeating, irregular eating, excessive junk food intake, distracted eating, and emotional eating.

No matter how disciplined you might be about your sleep schedule or fitting in those morning workouts, there's no denying the fact you've maintained a few bad eating habits throughout your weight-loss journey. But willpower isn't always to blame. It's also your brain's fault. Through the self-assessment according to your daily life scenarios, we'll analyze and help you understand your current eating habits better.

Friendly Reminder: Eating disorders are complex conditions that involve an intense preoccupation with food and your body. They can affect people of any age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. However, only a healthcare professional can make an accurate diagnosis, and if needed, recommend a treatment plan that will fit you best.

I'm having a really simple and repetitive daily diet.
Yes
No
Sometimes I struggle with binge eating due to different reasons.
Yes
No
I always snack late at night.
Yes
No
I have a huge craving for high-calorie foods, like sweets and fried food.
Yes
No
I'm used to snacking while doing other things, like playing video games and watching TV shows.
Yes
No
"I'll start my diet tomorrow." - Did you say that many times before?
Yes
No
My appetite goes up and down with my mood swings.
Yes
No
I can't quite recall what I ate yesterday.
Yes
No
Sometimes, I eat snacks all day instead of meals.
Yes
No
I am a fast eater.
Yes
No
Have you ever experienced Bulimia Nervosa (forcing yourself to vomit, or exercising too much after bingeing)?
Yes
No
I find it hard to immerse myself in the joy of eating.
Yes
No
I can list more than 10 kinds of food that I don't like to eat easily.
Yes
No
I drink carbonated drinks almost every day.
Yes
No
I prefer to talk with someone or think about something else in my mind while I'm eating.
Yes
No
I treat food as a comfort/reward.
Yes
No
I have a history of secretive eating ( like eating alone at midnight, hoping no one would notice).
Yes
No
I tend to eat a massive amount of particular food if I'm fond of it recently.
Yes
No
I care more about the taste of one food compared with its nutrition.
Yes
No
I eat snacks between meals almost every day.
Yes
No
I'd spend my mealtime scrolling through my phone, chatting, or taking a nap. Everything seems better than simply eating.
Yes
No
I use eating to relieve my stress and anxiety.
Yes
No
I tend to overeat if I dine in an AYCE (All You Can Eat) restaurant.
Yes
No
I often order food for takeout.
Yes
No
I overly focus on my body image because I'm too worried about people's opinions of me.
Yes
No
I feel so guilty/angry/ashamed/frustrated after overeating.
Yes
No
My eating habits differ on weekends as compared to Monday through Friday.
Yes
No
The amount of food I eat relates to the food's taste and my current mood.
Yes
No
I refuse to eat the food that tastes weird to me, no matter how nutritious it is.
Yes
No
I always forget to have my meal if I get too busy.
Yes
No
I struggle to stick to a diet, mainly because it's too strict.
Yes
No
I barely pay attention to the calorie counts and nutrition information on food.
Yes
No
I'm used to sitting in front of a screen while eating.
Yes
No
I may somehow eat more food than expected.
Yes
No
I used to eat the same food for more than one week.
Yes
No
I find it hard to stop as long as I start to eat, even if I'm already full.
Yes
No
I tend to refuse to try new food.
Yes
No
I could name some food that shows up on my dining table almost every single day.
Yes
No
I realize I always eat when I'm not hungry.
Yes
No
I don't have a regular mealtime.
Yes
No
I often eat processed and prepared foods like frozen meals (pizza, nuggets, etc.).
Yes
No
I had refused to eat the food I wanted to eat, and when I couldn't control it, I retaliated with a large intake.
Yes
No

Basic Concepts

The following is the concepts of every bad eating habit with explanations. While you can understand them now, we recommend that you read them again after the test is completed and compare them to the results.

Picky Eating

You probably picture a stubborn toddler refusing to eat broccoli. But adults can struggle with it, too. They usually have a minimal set of favorite foods, made a certain way. Picky eating and ADHD often go hand-in-hand. Researchers at Duke University found a high correlation between selective eating problems and ADHD. Meanwhile, the underlying stressor that leads to picky eating can be a variety of things, like inflammation, zinc deficiency, gut breakdown, etc. What happens is that even though picky eating may have begun because of one of these stressors, it can quickly become a vicious cycle.

Overeating

Repeated overeating often stems from a strong desire to control weight and a great deal of psychological stress. They eat excessively to relieve their inner anxiety, but as a result cause more physical and psychological damage. When you find that you have a tendency to binge eat, please stop being overly critical of yourself. The tremendous sense of guilt will, on the contrary, increase your stress, which can lead you into a vicious circle: overeating, self-loathing, and overeating again. Would you try to accept yourself, love your body, and pay attention to your inner feelings? Don't worry too much about what others think and take one step towards a normal diet. It is also important to note that a severe binge eating disorder requires admission to seek medical help.

Irregular Eating

Late-night snacks, skipping meals...A long-term irregular diet will damage the gastrointestinal, resulting in nutritional imbalance and even inducing mental disease. To get your diet back on the right track, you can start with regular, quantitative eating at a regularly scheduled time to achieve a balanced and healthy eating habit. In addition, you can use some tricks to improve your appetite, such as: trying a new recipe, doing some stretches 20 minutes before having a meal, etc.

Excessive Junk Food Intake

Junk food doesn't equal fast food. It refers to food containing high sugar, fat, and sodium while having low nutrition. Eating junk food on a regular basis can lead to an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and some cancers. If you have a junk food addiction, please be sure to pay attention to this problem and look for help from a dietitian.

Distracted Eating

When we get caught up in a certain environment, we may eat more food than usual or be unable to concentrate on enjoying the food in front of us. To improve distracted eating, it is better to start by focusing on one food. Think of eating it as a ritualistic and enjoyable process, focusing on the color, flavor, and taste of it, staying away from all the screens that kill your time and concentration.

Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is usually triggered by negative emotions, such as anxiety, loneliness, depression, etc. When surrounded by these emotions, it is easy to expect to seek comfort from food and turn to consume a lot of calories; however, after all of this, there is also a great sense of guilt. To overcome emotional eating, the first step is to identify what causes your anxiety and leads to the wrong time and place to eat the wrong food. Once the source is figured out, you could pay more attention to those feelings. Face them, tame them, fight the boredom and accept yourself. Treat eating as a sensory experience rather than an outlet for venting.