Changing Eating Habits

There are many reasons to start a new diet or change your eating habits completely. Perhaps you want to be healthier or maybe your doctor recommended changes. Regardless of the reason, changing your diet isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Eating habits are just like any other habit and can take some work to change. Setting up a plan before you start can help to eliminate some of the challenges you may encounter as well as help to make sure you don’t end up too overwhelmed.

Set a proper eating plan- A proper eating plan should include foods you enjoy along and nuts. Try to pick low calorie foods that will “stick” with you and help you to feel full along with satisfying your palette. Be sure to eat foods with a good deal of fiber as well.

If you are able, slowly wean yourself off of your favorite foods that are heavily processed or unhealthy. Do research and try to replace your old favorites with new, healthy options. There are many recipes available to help you get a specific flavor you may crave while using healthy ingredients.

If you have any allergies or specific nutritional needs, have your doctor or a dietician look over your plan to find any gaps or to provide recommendations on how to better it. They may recommend vitamins or supplements to go along with your plan.

Set Realistic Goals – Regardless of if you are trying to lose weight or just change your diet for other health reasons, be sure to set realistic goals. Being realistic helps you to have long term success. Set up a reasonable time line for your changes to occur!

Take small steps – Change can be hard! By making small changes over a period of time, you’ll find that new eating habits sink in better. Some experts suggest making just one change each week, to give you time to get used to the new behavior. You want your new habits to last a lifetime so don’t attempt to rush it!

Get started by stocking your fridge and cabinets with healthy food. Avoid stocking unhealthy foods! By keeping better options around, when you get hungry you have no choice but to pick a good option. 

Team up – The “buddy system” is fantastic for major lifestyle changes such as diet! Support is an essential part of any habit change. Even if you can’t find someone to team up with in person, check out online communities. In the digital age we live in, support can be found in many places! 

Track your meals – Keep either a physical or digital diary of your meals including snacks. If you are aiming for a calorie specific diet, be sure to keep track of each food item’s calories. There are many apps and books available to help you!