151 introwe eat solo about half of the time according to a recent report we dine alone 60 of the time at breakfast 55 of the time at lunch and up to 70 of the time when eating snacks the solitary dining trend is due in part to onthego lifestyles as well as the fact that nearly one third of households consist of just one person whether you live alone or with your significant other or family you may find yourself eating in a different way when you dine by yourself specifically if youre like many of my clients youre probably falling into some unhealthy eating traps here are five common dinealone conundrums along with practical ways to thwart them 10 weight loss mistakes everyone makes quicklist 1category avoid overeating when youre by yourselftitle relying on processed convenience foodurltext ive had numerous clients tell me that they dont make meals from scratch when they dine alone because they think why bother going to the trouble just for one person as a result they find themselves relying on frozen dinners or packaged products and that quality difference can negatively affect your waistline one recent study found that we burn about 50 more calories metabolizing whole foods versus processed foods in other words its not just about the total calories you consume some prep and cooking time is a worthy investment even for a solo meal to keep it fresh simple and relatively fast consider whipping up breakfast for dinner you can saut fresh veggies like tomatoes onion spinach and mushrooms in low sodium organic veggie broth with garlic and herbs and then pair it with either scrambled organic eggs or mashed white beans serve this over a small portion of healthy starch such as quinoa or brown rice and top with sliced avocado for healthy fat 14 ways to cut portions without feeling hungry quicklist 2category avoid overeating when youre by yourselftitle making too muchurltext one of the biggest challenges many of my clients face when dining solo is making more than they need which results in eating extra portions i know its really a pain or sometimes impossible to make just a half cup of quinoa for example so if you cook more than you need for a single meal keep a bpafree storage container at the ready to stash your surplus in the fridge and to check yourself consider pulling out your measuring cups and spoons eating just 20 more than you need meal after meal can keep you about 20 pounds heavierso while quality food rules managing quantity is still key for weight control quicklist 3category avoid overeating when youre by yourselftitle eating while distractedurltext eating alone often involves eating while doing something elsewatching tv checking email reading or surfing the web and distracted eating is a major setup for overeating when you arent paying attention its easy to become disconnected from how much youre eating or how full you feel and when youre out of touch