Many people have poor eating habits that are closely associated to other mundane activities, such as watching TV or an emotional response to negative or extreme feelings such as depression. In essence, these habits are an automatic response to stimuli, and “very” hard to break.
Want to lose weight? You’ll have to break these habits at some point.
The formation of new (and healthy) habits is only accomplished through gradual daily repetition.
Change your eating habits from bad to good can be extremely difficult, especially at first. Eventually it will all become easier as long as you are consistent. But the beginning will take a considerable amount of mental strength. But more than strength, it will require massive desire. With a burning desire to change – I mean, really change – you will fall short, lose focus, and get distracted in a matter of a short while. For some this will be days. For others a week or two.
Any way you slice it, at some point you will need to make a stand. Without overcoming the adversity of your previous habitual urges, chances are — if you begin another weight loss program — you will be left with the notion that you may never be able to lose weight.
Failing to lose weight time and again can play tricks on your mental well-being. In my opinion, it’s not advisable to even attempt losing weight if you’re not fully committed. The reason: You will fail 100% of the time.
The solution is to begin gradually. To ease into it, and not get into a rush. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself from the beginning. Set small goals. Slowly increase your personal demands, ramping up your diet and workouts each week, using only yourself and your own body as a gauge.
Here is a list of 9 healthy eating habits.
1 – Four meals daily are better than eating three large meals. Three to four hours interval of eating will keep your metabolism checked. Do not skip breakfast and your meals must be of equal or decreasing in size with your dinner as the smallest meal.
2 – Avoid eating fast and chew your food carefully.
3 – Set up one place for eating whether at home or your office to prevent you from having unnecessary snacks.
4 – Eat responsibly at the right time. Avoid associating it with other activities.
5 – Always store your food only at the kitchen. Snack foods should not be displayed where it can tempt you to eat.
6 – List your food grocery before going to shop and avoid buying items that were not on the list.
7 – Serve the dishes in the kitchen instead of placing the food at the table.
8 – Use plates that are smaller so that when you eat, your meal will generally look bigger.
9 – Only eat until you are full and avoid placing too much food on your plate that you are forced to eat all of it.
When you begin eating healthier, you put yourself in the driver’s seat of your weight loss efforts. You begin regaining control. You become proactive, instead of reactive. From there, you can implement a little bit of exercise, and then tomorrow a little more. It’s all about incremental progress. Move slowly, but hold yourself accountable. Good luck!