People are creatures of habit when it comes to eating. They like to eat at their favorite restaurants, enjoy social eating and drinking, and face the temptation of fast, cheap, and convenient foods available at every turn. With the high obesity rates in American, it seems that temptation wins all too often. Changing eating habits include strategies such as fasting, eliminating sugar and its substitutes, and transforming negative perceptions of healthy eating by looking at eating in a different and more positive way.
Fasting
Whether a person has low dose naltrexone weight loss or is trying to maintain a healthy weight, fasting may be helpful. It can help break old eating habits helping distinguish between happiness and pleasure. While pleasure is fleeting like a fast-food french fry, happiness long term and does not come with physical substances such as junk food. There is also some evidence to suggest it can help reset taste buds.
Elimination
Sugar, and particularly liquid sugar, which can be found in energy drinks, sodas, and teas, makes up too much of the average diet. Whole wheat and white bread are also culprits because they are quickly converted to sugar in the bloodstream. Many people turn to sugar substitutes to reduce their sugar intake, but there can be side effects to consuming artificial sugar. There is also some research that shows these sugar substitutes increase appetite.
Perception
Instead of looking at healthy eating as a chore or as missing out on favorite foods, it can be helpful to make changes that make eating well more pleasurable. Consider buying a healthy cookbook and prepare at least one family meal each day. Try to eat it at the dining or kitchen table to help focus on eating healthy meals. A focus on adding healthy foods to the diet instead of getting rid of unhealthy ones by keeping more fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and fats, and whole-grain foods can make the change easier. Listen to feelings of hunger and try not to delay or skip meals to avoid overeating.
When trying to restructure eating habits, changing old habits will probably be necessary. There are different ways to accomplish this, and strategies can include fasting, eliminating sugar, and working to perceive healthy eating as pleasurable. Making small changes and working on them a little bit at a time can make the process easier, lead to better eating habits and better health.
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