Breaking the Habit:
Changing the Way You Look at Food
Habits constitute much of our daily lives. From what time we wake up,the route we take to drive to work, how we greet others, and how we unwind at the end of the day just to name a few. Some of the most difficult habits to break however are the ones that are often formed in childhood, and this often includes your eating habits. If you have bad or undesirable habits when it comes to food you’re in luck, because just like habits such as smoking and drinking they can be broken and replaced with healthier and more desirable ones.
Deciding to make a drastic change to your eating habits such as cutting something out of your diet “cold turkey” can lead to short term weight loss and improvement in health but in the long run it turns out to be not as healthy and not as permanent. Most people back pedal to square one after they have met their goal. Making positive changes to your eating habits takes a more well thought out approach that may take a little longer to see results, but in the end you will be able to maintain your weight and keep the changes you have made to your lifestyle. To do this there are three steps to take: reflect, replace, and reinforce.
Step 1: Reflection
If you want to change a habit you need to know what it is exactly that needs to be changed! This takes a little more time because you will be doing some soul searching, and contemplation. You may even uncover some bad eating habits that you never thought you had in the process!
The first step in the reflection process is to recognize your eating habits. To do this start keeping a food diary; writing down everything you consumed and at what time for a few days. Also keep note of how you were feeling when you ate and where you were when you ate. Were you hungry? Bored? Stressed? Tired? Pressured into eating food because you were out with friends?
After you have kept track of what you have been eating for a few days, highlight the habits that may be leading you to overeat or make undesirable food choices. Some of these habits can include standing while eating which causes you to graze, eating to the point where you are so full you are uncomfortable, or eating just to pass time. These are just some examples and habits will vary for everyone.
Next, take a look at those undesirable habits and think of what may have triggered them and caused you to eat when you weren’t hungry or make poor food choices when you were. Some of the more common “triggers” can include coming home from work and not knowing what to make for dinner, picking at different food items in the kitchen because you are in a rush, going through your favorite fast food drive-thru every morning because it is on the way to work, or simply feeling bored and eating is just something to do.
Step 2: Replace
Now that you have identified the habits that are making it difficult to manage your weight, ask yourself the following question. “What can I do to avoid the trigger or situation?” This could be simple actions like making a menu for the week, taking a different route to work, sitting down when you eat.
If some of the triggers on your list are unavoidable ask yourself, “What can I do different that would be a healthier option?” This can include getting a lower calorie meal at the drive-thru on the way to work, if you are going to an event or meeting and know unhealthy snacks will be served try having a healthy snack before hand so you are less likely to indulge, or if you can’t do that try seating yourself further away from the food so it won’t be so easy to reach across the table and grab something.
Step 3: Reinforce
Rome was not built in a day and the same goes for developing your new healthy habits. Be conscience of your actions and if you find yourself falling back on one of your unhealthy habits don’t just say “The heck with it, I’ll start up again tomorrow,” or “I’ll wait until Monday so I’ll have a clean slate for the week.” Every day is a clean slate! Just because you made a choice that wasn’t leading you in the direction of your goal doesn’t mean the whole day is shot; keep moving forward and continue to make better choices throughout the day!
Summary:
- Reflect: Keep a food log and keep note of your food choices/habits and the where, when, and why you made them.
- Replace: Identify your habits that are making it difficult to maintain your weight or a healthy lifestyle and ask yourself “What can I do to avoid this situation or trigger?” or if it is unavoidable “What can I do different that would be a healthier option?”
- Reinforce: Be mindful of your actions. Consistency is the key to enforcing new healthy habits and don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day or fall back on an old habit. Reflect on why it happened and make a plan for how to handle it if it happens again.
For more details on breaking habits and reinforcing new ones visit the following sources:
Healthy Eating: Changing Your Eating Habits
Article by- Stephen Brandis, CSCS