How to improve your eating habits

When it comes to health, food choice plays a significant role in the development and functioning of the body. Eating patterns affect the state of the heart, cholesterol levels, weight, and the body’s ability to fight infections.

Research done by Statistics Canada reveals that most Canadians eat less than five servings of vegetables and fruits per day. Additionally, seven out of ten children sampled hardly consume any vegetables.

Making sudden radical changes such as dieting can lead to short-lived weight loss. However, such drastic changes aren’t healthy and cannot be sustainable in the long run. Perpetually improving your eating habits requires discipline and a well-thought-out approach.

Ways to improve eating habits

List down your eating and drinking habits

To unearth your eating habits, create a diary of everything you eat and drink, including alcohol and snacks. Where possible, note down the times of day that you eat or drink and the quantity you consume per serving. By so doing, you will uncover your feeding habits.

Documenting eating habits will help you identify situations that influence your eating habits. For instance, understanding your mood and behavior before eating will determine your reason for eating. Are you stressed out at work or tired and need an energy boost? Or, are you engaging in comfort eating? These are some helpful questions that you need to ask yourself.

Identify unhealthy eating habits.

Are there triggers that cause you to engage in unhealthy eating habits? Analyze them and find ways of eliminating them. Do away with bad habits and acquire new ones. Create achievable goals so that you don’t overwhelm yourself and lose hope along the way. Always congratulate yourself for making progress and sticking to the new habits.

Pinpoint bad habits

Which lousy eating habits have you acquired over the years?

• Do you tend to overeat,
• Eat when not hungry.
• Solve boredom by eating
• Eating in a hurry
• Skip meals
• Eat while standing, causing you to eat very fast.
• Eat unhealthy meals full of fats, sugars, and starch
• Snack on sugary food
• Always eating dessert

How to overcome bad eating habits

Recognize bad habits

Identifying bad habits will help you determine the circumstances that lead you towards destructive practices. You will be better placed to avoid those circumstances making it easier to eliminate negative eating habits.

Analyzing your food diary will help you become aware of the triggers that lead you to eat for reasons other than hunger. Some of these triggers include:

• Anxious just before a meeting at work, and you’re sure snacking will calm you down.
• Take large quantities of alcoholic drinks with all your meals.
• Feeling lonely and bored makes you eat to pass the time.
• Skipping meals leads you to overeat since you are too hungry.
• Sitting at home watching movies.
• Using holidays such as Christmas and New Year to overindulge in food and drink.

Create a strategy

To beat lousy eating habits means that you have to plan how to deal with these triggers. Prior planning is an excellent way to remain in control regardless of the temptations you face.

For instance, sufficient preparations before meetings may increase your confidence and help you remain calm. Learning a new skill during your free time will prevent you from eating to kill boredom.

Substitute bad habits with healthy ones

While avoiding triggers remains effective, it is not always practical. Eliminating every situation that encourages bad eating habits is not always possible.

You may have to discipline yourself and assess your options in some instances. Some practical alternatives include distancing yourself from the kitchen to manage temptation, carrying healthier snacks to work, or eating a balanced diet before leaving home.

If you “feel hungry” the moment you pass by the candy shop on your way to the office, try taking a different route.

Reduce your eating speed

Eating very quickly encourages overeating, and some triggers may include eating alone, standing during meal times, or engaging in distractions such as watching movies while eating.

To minimize speed while eating, invite a friend or colleague to lunch and try and allocate enough time for meals. Distractions prevent you from noticing the speed you are eating or the quantity of food.

Eating slower helps you enjoy the meal, and it is easier to recognize when satisfied, unlike when eating quickly, where you only concentrate on clearing your plate.

Eat only when hungry.

Instead of finding reasons to eat when stressed, bored or tired, program your system only to eat when truly hungry. If you find yourself eating for other reasons besides hunger, try engaging in an activity or sport that you enjoy. Learn a new skill, take a walk in the park, call an old friend or engage yourself in other activities to substitute horrible eating habits.

Plan meals

Failing to plan results in planning to fail. If you reach home after a long day at work with no plan of what to cook, the situation may tempt you to eat everything in sight while you decide what to set on the table for dinner.

Planning meals in advance will reduce time spent cooking, and you will serve your meals in good time. Cooking your meals late encourages a lot of snacking while you wait for the food to cook.

Also, proper planning ensures that your meals are healthy and well-balanced. Waiting until the last minute to shop for your groceries will force you to make quick meals that aren’t necessarily healthy.

Exercise patience

Don’t expect to instantly get rid of bad eating habits you have acquired over a long period. Good habits take time to master and follow. Don’t berate yourself or give up hope when you experience a relapse.

If you err, forgive yourself, make the necessary adjustments and move on. With time, your system will adjust, and sticking to healthy eating habits will no longer be a struggle but a joy.

With the festive season around the corner, feasting and merry-making will be part of the holiday season. As you choose to unwind with friends and family, eat and drink in moderation.

Suppose you have any suggestions or recommendations or want to share your journey with us. We would love to hear from you.