How to improve your eating habits


Eating is a critical aspect that the body needs to maintain proper functioning. There are a variety of factors that shape our eating habits. Some eating habits develop as we grow while environmental factors shape others. Negative eating habits that may have developed should be changed. Changing them necessitated a thoughtful approach that involves reflecting, replacing and reinforcing. This article helps in identification of negative eating habits and changing them

Steps to take to identify negative eating habits


To find out negative eating habits, note down all that you eat and the times of the day that you consume them. Write down the triggers that lead to eating specific diets. For example, most individuals consume sugary foods, including chocolates, ice cream, creamy cakes and others when they feel angry or stressed as they attribute these foods to humour. Below is how to identify the negative habits.

  • With a noted down list, it is now easy to identify unhealthy habits. You should have made sure that you identified the triggers of each habit.  First, identify the positive habits in the list, such as eating fruits or consuming fat-free milk. By first identifying the positive habits and their triggers, this helps keep your mind motivated and prioritise these habits.
  • Proceed to the negative habits and their triggers, such as seeking to know what other aspects other than hunger trigger you to eat. For instance, ask yourself questions such as do particular emotional states trigger you to eat? Are there any environmental factors involved? What are the specific non-hunger reasons involved? Below are some of the common non-hunger triggers to eating that has been identified.
  • Being tired or bored
  • Being offered a dish by someone who made it for you
  • Passing through a candy counter
  • Stressful situations and meetings
  • Having your favourite snack or food on the counter
  • Have no prior preparation on what you’ll cook for example for dinner
  • After you have gone through your noted down list and you’ve been able to identify your triggers of unhealthy eating habits, you can now plan on the steps you will take to avoid the habits.
  • Have a session involving meditation of the identified triggers and assess yourself on the appropriate steps you should take to overcome the negative eating habits’ triggers. Carefully note the strategies you identify to overcome these bad habits and ensure you stick carefully to those strategies.

Below are strategies to help you overcome the identified bad habits

If its bad mood that triggers you to eat

Overcome the bad mood reflex by making sure you don’t think of the issue that is troubling you when you start eating. You should also try non-food based mood boosters, including watching a movie, calling a friend or going for a walk.

If you are a heavy snacker

To keep your stomach full and body energised, take just two snacks a day. Go for high-calorie snacks. Instead of going for a candy bar or a cookie opt for more foods-based snacks such as a handful of nuts, a sandwich, or some whole-grain crackers.

If you eat okay all week but on weekends your eating suddenly shoots ups

Here you need to strategise. Typically during weekends, there’s much socialising during eating sessions. To limit yourself while eating with friends, take a small meal before going out. Ensure that you also don’t restrict you’re eating that much during weekdays so that by weekend don’t feel the urge to compensate.

If you eat only while on the run

Ensure that you create time to eat during your day, you can plan a schedule and set reminders on your phone. When it’s time to eat set any other activity aside and only focus on eating. If the only option you have is to eat while dashing, be prepared in advance to have your purse stocked. If you’ll be in your office, stock your office drawer.

If you eat mindlessly

Here know the trigger. Sometimes the television can be the cause of your spaced out eating. Make an effort to eat while the tv is off, and when there are no destructions; thus, you can pay full attention. Going for low-calorie foods such as rice crackers and cut vegetable can greatly help minimised mindless eating.

In conclusion, eating well is critical to overall good health. This article helps one identify any negative habit they may have and remedy them. You should also ensure that you buy foods from reputable shops. Online reviews such as healthy diet products reviews will help you identify reputable shops. For wines, you can purchase at giordano wines UK.