How To Replace Bad Eating Habits With Good Ones
By: Artur Kh.
Tags: Health Foods, Eating, Health, Healthcare, Habits

Identify your bad eating habits and find out what causes them. And then gradually replace them with good ones.

1. Start a food diary

It will help you figure out what eating habits you have now. Keep records for a week.

Write down exactly what you ate, how much and at what time.

Make notes about your well-being: “hungry”, “stressed”, “bored”, “tired”. This will explain why you ate something. For example, you got bored at work, and you bought a chocolate bar.

At the end of the week, review the records and identify your eating habits. Decide which ones you want to change.

Don’t set yourself many goals at once, move gradually. To begin with, limit yourself to two or three goals. For example, such as:

drink skimmed milk instead of whole milk;

drink more water during the day;

instead of sweets, there are fruits for dessert;

take healthy snacks and homemade food with you for lunch;

learn to distinguish when you eat because you are hungry, and when — from stress or boredom.

2. Identify triggers

Think about what caused these habits. Maybe something in your environment provokes you to eat when you are not hungry. Or the choice of food is influenced by emotions. Review the food diary entries and circle the recurring triggers. For example:

you saw something delicious in the kitchen or in the vending machine;

do you eat while watching TV shows;

are you stressed at work or in another field;

you are tired after a working day, but you have nothing ready for dinner;

you have to eat junk food at work;

do you eat fast food for breakfast;

by the end of the day, you want to please yourself with something.

Focus on one or two triggers that are triggered most often. Think about how to avoid them.

Do not pass by the vending machine on your way to work.

Prepare dinner in advance or prepare groceries to get through the evening quickly.

Do not keep harmful snacks at home. If someone from the household buys them, keep them so that they do not catch your eye.

Suggest buying fruits instead of sweets for workshops. Or bring them separately for yourself.

Drink mineral water instead of juice and soda.

3. Replace old habits with new ones

Find an alternative to harmful snacks

If at the end of the day you eat sweets to recharge your energy, it is better to choose a cup of herbal tea and a handful of almonds. Or go for a short walk when you feel a decline in energy.

For an afternoon snack, eat fruit and yogurt.

Instead of a bowl of sweets, put a plate of fruits or nuts on the table.

Keep track of the portion size. It’s hard to eat a few chips or other junk food when you have a whole pack in front of you. Set aside a small portion on a plate, and remove the rest.

Eat slowly

While chewing, put the fork on the plate. Take the next bite only when you have swallowed the previous one. If you eat too fast, the stomach will not have time to signal that hunger is satisfied. As a result, you will overeat.

How do you know if you’re eating too fast? About 20 minutes after eating, you will notice that you have eaten too much.

Eat only when you are hungry

Do not try to calm down with food, you will only overeat. To feel better, call your loved ones or go for a walk.

Let your brain and body relax. Take a break to relieve tension without resorting to food.

Plan your meals

Decide in advance what you will eat so as not to make impulsive purchases.

At the beginning of the week, decide what you will cook for dinner and buy groceries. This way there will be less temptation to eat fast food on the way from work.

Prepare some of the ingredients for dinner in advance. For example, cut vegetables. Then it will take less time to cook in the evening.

Try to have a hearty breakfast so that you don’t feel like having a sweet snack before lunch. If you don’t feel like eating in the morning, eat a fruit, drink a glass of milk or a smoothie.

Have a hearty lunch and have something healthy to eat before dinner. Then you will not die of hunger by the evening and will not eat too much.

Do not skip meals. Otherwise, next time you will overeat or eat something harmful.

When you’ve changed one or two bad eating habits, move on to the next one. Do not rush and do not scold yourself. It will take time. The main thing is not to give up.