Many people have probably never thought about their eating habits. And why they are so important, to discover in order to make long-term healthy lifestyle changes.
When I discovered my own eating habits, it made it so much easier to stay on track. I finally understood why I could never stick to my clean eating habits. I would eat junk food when I was depressed or stress, and once I realized it, I started making changes. Instead of eating, I would work out, read, or distract myself with other things to avoid giving in to the food my depression or stress was wanting.
If you are ready to make a healthy lifestyle change but are dreading it because you keep falling back into your old eating habits.
Maybe it is time you find out what is holding you back from making a long-term change.
When I say make a healthy lifestyle change, I am not saying eat salads for the rest of your life. I actually think that salads are the worst thing you can eat when trying to reach weight loss goals. Salads can be packed with so many ingredients and dressing you can easily make them very unhealthy.
How to identify your eating habits?
Document your food intake for 3 to 5 days, but what you are really tracking here is the feeling attached to the meal. Let me explain, write down your food intake and how you are feeling, such as sad, depressed, stressed, mad, or just neutral.
Many times we eat for these reasons:
- Boredom
- Stress
- Depress
- Sad
- Happy
Attaching a feeling to your food will help you identify why you keep retrieving your old eating habits. If you are eating cookies, cake, chips, or candy late at night or between meals, you will begin to learn your eating patterns. Our body naturally craves more sugar or salty food when we feel a certain way.
What do you do now? You tracked for a week, and you discovered that you are grabbing food that is not fueling your body but your stress.
Make a plan
Swap the food option- instead, make yourself a healthier filling option or drink water.
Get a workout in or simply go out for a walk. Allow yourself to feel the feeling without feeding into them.
Meditate- Before indulging in the food that is holding you back from achieving your desired goals, step away and give yourself some alone time to reflect on the feeling and how you can make changes.
Journal- journaling your feeling is such a powerful thing to do. It will help you identify the root of the feeling. Recognizing what is causing you to feel that way can help you find a solution to your problem. Also, not reaching for the food that is not going to fuel your goals.
Take a bath-give yourself something to do. Relax the muscles and the brain. Keeping yourself busy helps you from getting into the pantry.
Once you have identified your eating habits, this is how you will begin to change them. Pinpointing the feeling to the food will make you more aware of the reasons; you are reaching out for those food options that are not moving your forward with your goals.
You have to find the root of the problem before making a significant change.
This does not mean that everything you enjoy or a cheat meal is a bad habit. Enjoying a meal or a treat in moderation is something you learn to do without judgment. Once you can eat in moderation, and get back on track; you can finally say you’ve made long-term lifestyle changes.
