How to drastically change your eating habits

by Jen (September 10, 2008)

It’s not that hard to improve a little on your eating habits. But what if you’ve just been warned by your doctor that you have to change your eating habits radically and quickly to avoid health problems? It’s actually quite traumatic to completely change your diet - and even when it’s the best thing for your body, it’s not easy for your body to adapt. If 90% of the foods you like to eat are suddenly on the “don’t eat” list, and all the foods on the “do eat” list are things you hate or have never tried, here are some suggestions on acclimating your mind and body to the change you need to make.

• Fix exactly the sort of healthy meal you’re being advised to eat, except for one thing: substitute one healthy item with one small portion of an unhealthy thing you like to eat. Do not eat the food you like until you’ve forced yourself to eat the rest. Savor that one indulgence. And make sure it’s a substitution, not an addition to the healthy meal. This way, you’re getting used to the good food without removing all the pleasure of eating. In time, you’ll surprise yourself and develop a taste for some of the healthy stuff and be able to back off the unhealthy stuff completely.
• If portions are an issue, reduce portions gradually to avoid feeling like you need seconds (thus defeating the whole purpose). If you’re typically having seconds or thirds, force yourself to stop with one serving. If you typically have huge servings, start putting a little less on your plate. Use smaller plates to make it look bigger. Portion control is about controlling your eyes, which are always hungrier than your stomach.
• Whenever you catch yourself rationalizing - “One Hershey Kiss doesn’t count”, “I’ll just have a little bit more” - don’t give in! This is so important in the beginning! After you’ve been eating healthy for a few years you might actually find you can have one Hershey kiss without having a second, third, twelfth. But at first, your willpower is low because of this huge undertaking of changing your diet so much.

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