How You Can Change Bad Eating Habits

How To Change Bad Eating Habits

Most people are creatures of habit. We tend to buy the same products from the same grocery store, cook the same foods over and over again, and spend our lives according to our own established routines. When it comes to eating better and losing weight, you need to mix things up, break free from bad eating habits, and shift your perspective on your diet and way of living.

We often become so accustomed to our routines that it becomes difficult to break free of those regular patterns, even when our doctors advise us to make changes to help with conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux. Many people are hesitant to alter their eating or drinking habits because they have gotten accustomed to eating or drinking the same things over a period of time and they are afraid of the unknown or trying something new. 

Old habits can be difficult to break even when you have a strong desire to make a change. Once habits are established, they become automatic learned behaviors which are more powerful than the new habits you are attempting to incorporate into your life. Even those who are successful in changing their unhealthy eating habits may easily revert to their old behaviors when faced with a stressful situation. When you are feeling weak or vulnerable, your natural instincts tend to take precedence over your best intentions. Everything might seem to be going well until you strike a snag and experience emotions of boredom, loneliness, sadness, or anxiety.

When it comes to modifying your eating habits, there are three things you must do
  • Be aware of the detrimental behaviors that you wish to change is essential. 
  • Identify the underlying causes of these behaviors.
  • Develop a plan for gradually changing your harmful eating and physical activity habits into new, healthier ones.

Increase your awareness of what you are eating and drinking
One of the first stages towards overcoming bad eating habits is to make a deliberate effort to pay closer attention to what you eat and drink in the first place. Read food labels, become familiar with ingredient lists, and start paying attention to everything you ingest every day. The ability to recognize how you may make modifications to your eating habits will come as a result of becoming more conscious of what you are consuming. You may be consuming more sugar than you're aware of which is very unhealthy. Keeping a meal diary is something that some individuals find useful to track their eating.

Make a plan and be as clear as possible with it
If you want to start eating more fiber, having breakfast every day, or going to the gym more regularly, consider the steps you will need to take to make that goal a reality. Make a list of all of your possibilities and variables that may come into play. As an illustration, consider the following: Make healthy snacking a daily habit by bringing an apple to work. Stock up on cereal and fruit for quick breakfasts, and visit the gym on your way to work three times a week. Saying things like "I am going to work out more" will not assist you. It will be useful to plan when and how you will fit it into your calendar ahead of time.

Every week, make a tiny goal for yourself that you can achieve
Set achievable goals at first. After a while, all of these modest efforts will add up to a substantial shift in the landscape. Consider the following scenario: if your goal is to eat more vegetables, make a commitment to trying one new vegetable each week until you find one that you genuinely enjoy. Try to look for easy techniques to integrate one more serving of vegetables into your diet each week until you reach your goal. Including thinly sliced cucumbers in your lunch sandwich, shredded carrots in your morning muffins, or sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms in your evening pizza are all easily doable suggestions.

Maintain a realistic outlook on your aspirations
Try not to put yourself in a position of failure by expecting too much too soon. It takes around one month for a new behavior to become habitually performed. Slow and steady wins the race every time with a good sense of awareness — and this is no exception.

Plan a strategy for dealing with stress
Exercise, relaxation, meditation, or whatever method works best for you should be your primary method of coping with stress so that you do not revert to old patterns during stressful times or use food to help you cope with the issue.

Over time, you will see a significant difference in your health if you continue to perform these modest changes. Do you have any suggestions that work for you?

This is a contributed post.

1 comment

Olivia said...

Great article, thank you for sharing!!!

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