Human beings are creatures of habit, every day we are used to doing the same things in the same places, for the same reasons. We usually do not stop to think about what we’re doing. For instance, having breakfast, a morning coffee, scrolling through social media, brushing our teeth or having a piece of chocolate after a meal—these are actions that we are used to doing on a daily basis without wondering why, we just do them. These are our habits; some are good for us, and some may lead to our demise if left unaltered.
When it comes to food, we all have some bad habits that we would like to change. We may eat out often, eat late at night or eat a lot of sweet treats. The sneaky thing about habits is that they are often triggered by an unseen desire which leads us to find a way to satisfy that desire, whether in a good or a bad way. Through repetition of these actions, a neural pathway begins to form within the brain which will then govern that new behavioural pattern. That is why once a habit is formed, it is typically not very easy to break, and must be replaced by another one. This includes our eating habits.
To get a better understanding of this, I consulted with Nutritionist James Harper, another professional in the field of Health and well-being. With his guidance, I have laid out five steps to help anyone who may be struggling with bad eating habits to break free from them and to develop new, healthy eating habits. Here we go:
Identify your problem
In order to break a bad habit, you must first know what it is. What’s the one bad eating habit that you have that you would like to change? Is it eating sugary snacks? An addiction to a certain soda drink? A weakness for late night snacks? What is it? When you can identify your weakness, you will have a starting point for your journey of deliverance.
Know your triggers
A trigger is a stimulant for a certain behaviour. It is the root cause of why you do what you do. With respect to eating, some examples of triggers may be hunger, boredom, entertainment, sadness, nervousness, loneliness or stress. Oftentimes, we train ourselves to eat in response to a certain trigger, because food makes us feel good. It provides momentary satisfaction or relief and gives us a sense of reward. With frequent repetition we develop cravings for that object of satisfaction, not because of what it is, but because of how it makes us feel. When you know the reason why you are doing what you are doing, you can find alternative ways to gain the same rewards from new actions. The trick here is to purposely think before you act.
Take baby steps
Habits usually take a long time to form, and so you should not try to change them all at once, nor should you expect immediate results. This may be known as the all-or-nothing complex, where persons give their best effort expecting an immediate, predictable result, and become discouraged if they do not receive instant rewards for their efforts. To break a bad eating habit, you need to take these baby steps:
Write down what you want to achieve, being as specific as you can be. For example, ‘I want to eat healthier, by consuming less processed food, refined sugar and unhealthy fats, and by eating more fruits and vegetables within one year.’ When you do this, be sure to record your progress over time.
Choose one thing that you can give up that can help you to achieve your goal. For example, you can start small by cutting out candy or bacon (using the above example). When you overcome your need for those foods, you can add another thing that you can do without, then another. Before you know it, you will be moving closer and closer toward achieving your goal.
Add one thing to your diet that you can enjoy, such as having one fruit with your breakfast every morning. You can then slowly add healthy food items to your daily meals.
Prepare your own meals. When you prepare your own food, you can determine exactly what goes into your meals and hence, your body.
Do your own shopping. Healthy eating begins in the grocery store. When you are more aware of what you are buying to feed yourself, your choices for snacks and meal preparation can shift toward being more supportive of your goals.
Change “Can’t” to “Don’t”
“I can’t eat chocolate” versus “I don’t eat chocolate.” See the difference? Thinking that we can’t eat something gives us a sense of restriction that can lead to indulgence in the same food later on. However, when we think that we don’t eat a certain food item, it forms a part of how we see ourselves individually. We think that this is just not something that we do, because this is who we are, and are therefore we are less likely to indulge in the named behaviour.
Go easy on yourself
When trying to break a bad habit and adopt a new good one, remember that there will be good days and bad days, but do not give up. Relapse into old behaviours is guaranteed, but be encouraged that you do not have to stay there. You have the power to persist, to try again, and even when you do succeed (because you will), to maintain your new habits through practice and repetition. Please, go easy on yourself if you falter.
There we have it. I hope that you have been encouraged to begin the process of breaking free from bad eating habits, whatever they may be.
Best wishes on your journey to a healthy lifestyle.