When it comes to eating, we have very ingrained habits. Some are good, for example always having breakfast, and some are not so good, such as taking extra servings. Although many of these customs were established during childhood, it does not mean that it is too late to improve your eating habits .
Making sudden and radical changes in eating habits can lead to short-term weight loss. However, radical changes are not healthy or a good idea , and they will not be successful in the long run. Permanently improving your eating habits requires a thoughtful approach, replacing old habits with new ones, and reinforcing old ones.
How to change and improve your eating habits
Steps to follow to improve your eating habits.
- Reflect on all your specific eating habits , both bad and good; and its common triggers for unhealthy eating.
- Replace your unhealthy eating habits with more appropriate ones.
- Reinforce your new eating habits .
Reflect on your current eating habits
To reflect on your current eating habits, you should follow a series of steps that will help you:
Create a list of your eating habits
it is a perfect idea to make a good reflection. Keeping a food diary for a few days, in which you write down everything you eat and the time of day you ate it, will help you figure out your habits.
Highlight habits on your list that can lead you to overeat
Common eating habits that can lead to weight gain are:
- Eating too fast.
- Don’t measure your servings.
- Eat when you are not hungry.
- Eating while standing (can lead to eating without thinking or eating too quickly).
- Always eat dessert.
- Skip meals.
Reflect on the unhealthy eating habits that you have highlighted
Make sure you have identified all the triggers that come from those habits. Identify the ones you would like to improve first. Don’t forget to congratulate yourself on doing the right thing: Maybe you almost always eat fruit for dessert, or you drink low-fat or fat-free milk. These are good habits, so acknowledging your successes will help you improve your eating habits.
Create a list of “signs” by reviewing your food diary to be more aware of when and where hunger is triggered.
Consider how you feel in those moments. Often times, an environmental “cue”, or a particular emotional state, is what encourages you to eat without hunger.
Ask yourself these questions for each marked “sign” you have identified:
Is there anything I can do to avoid the signal or the situation? This option works best for signs that don’t involve others – for example, could I choose a different route to work and avoid stopping at the same fast food restaurant along the way? Is there some other place in the break room where I can sit so I’m not next to the vending machine?
For things that I cannot avoid, can I do something different that is healthier? Obviously, you can’t avoid all the situations that trigger your unhealthy eating habits, like meetings at work. In these situations, evaluate your options. Could you suggest or bring healthier snacks or drinks? Could you offer to take notes and distract my attention? Could I sit further away from the food so it’s not so easy to grab any snacks? Could you plan ahead and have a healthy snack before the meeting?
Replace your eating habits with healthier ones
Replace your few habits with new and healthier ones
For example, by reflecting on your eating habits , you may find that you eat too fast when you eat alone. So, commit to sharing a lunch each week with a friend, or invite a neighbor over for dinner one night a week. Another strategy may be to minimize other distractions, such as watching the news at dinner, which can prevent you from paying attention to how fast and how much you eat.
Eat slower
If you eat too fast , you can leave the plate empty in 10 minutes and not pay attention to how hungry you really are.
Eat only when you’re really hungry
Instead of when you are tired, anxious or feeling an emotion that makes you eat, eat only when you are really hungry . If you eat when you experience an emotion other than hunger, such as boredom or anxiety, try looking for an activity other than eating. A brisk walk or a phone call with a friend may help you feel better.
Plan meals in advance
Planning your meals is very important to ensure you eat a healthy, well-balanced meal.
Reinforce your new healthy habits
Reinforce your new healthy habits and be patient with yourself. Habits take time to take hold, this doesn’t happen overnight. When you want to break out of an unhealthy habit, stop as quickly as possible and ask yourself: Why am I doing this? When did I start doing this? What changes do I need to make? Beware of punishing yourself or thinking that one mistake makes healthy habits disappear overnight. Little by little or you will get.
