How to change eating habits easily

It is not a secret now that, if we want to improve our body shape and health, we must change our life style and nutrition. This often involves much struggle and suffering. Here are some tips on how to change eating habits easily and without too many sacrifices.    

The truth is that giving up on the food we love scares us a lot. It seems to be such a radical change, that we always put it off till “tomorrow” or “next week”.

Food is comfort. Food is a source of pleasure and sometimes even self-gratification and changing eating habits seems to be a way to deprive ourselves of that little enthusiasm we have for daily life.

Maybe it is the verb to change that scares us. What if we used to verb to transform instead? What we consider as an act of love for ourselves (gratifying ourselves with unhealthy foods) should be transformed into an actual act of love for ourselves (nourishing our body with healthy foods).

We should learn to love ourselves instead of trying to control our Ego with food.

Yet, how can we change our eating habits without suffering too much?  The secret to making this process as less painful as possible, is to start with little steps. With the following tips and tricks changing your eating habits will be a piece of cake!

Did you know that the term “piece of cake” was first used in the 1870’s when cakes were given out as prizes for winning competitions? It is now often used to describe a situation that required very little effort.

How to change our eating habits easily:

#1 The 20-minute rule

It has been shown, that fullness shows up 20 minutes after we have ingested food. For this reason, we should wait at least 20 minutes after finishing the meal, before deciding whether to eat some more food. We shouldn’t even drink, because water may slow down digestion.

If after 20 minutes we are still hungry, we may grant ourselves a light dessert and/or an herbal tea.

#2 Less salt, more spices

We all know now, that excess salt may cause several health issues, and it is shape-unfriendly too. The problem is, when food doesn’t taste savory enough to us, we add more and more salt. The tip is to substitute it for a mix of herbs and spices. It is a very good idea to fill the salt-pot with this healthy mix. Our taste and health will benefit from that.

#3 Vegetables first

Vegetables side dishes get digested faster and make us feel full earlier than other foods. What is more, vegetables are rich in enzymes essential to protein digestion.

#4 No distractions

When we are at the table our only focus should be food, we mus chew properly and try to relax. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops and TV distract us and make us eat more.

#5 Do grocery shopping in advance

Having the right ingredients at hand all the time is a very good way to avoid buying or ordering fast food and ready-to-eat meals, which most of the time are pretty unhealthy. Trying to organize meals may turn out to be helpful. Writing down a weekly menu is advantageous, when you want to change your eating habits. It gets us to do grocery shopping in advance, buy fresh and healthy foods. This way we don’t have to invent reasons to buy ready-to-eat foods.

#6 Look for the right alternatives

Lots of people think changing eating habits means to be drastic and give up all those foods we love consuming. Yet, it is not so! It is possible (and necessary) to look for healthy alternatives to those dishes or foods we like so much. For example, if you love sweets, try to substitute typical pastry shop sweets for home-made desserts, using healthier and less caloric ingredients.  For example try using whole flour instead of white one, and replace white sugar with honey or maple syrup.

#7 Prefer genuine foods

Instead of buying fruit yoghurt (rich in sugar and food additives, like colorings, flavors, acidity regulators, sweeteners, preservatives etc.), try adding fruit or honey to white or Greek yoghurt. Your health and taste will benefit a lot from that!

#8 Let your taste enjoy!

It is hard to give up our comfort foods, though eating healthily is satisfying just the same. Indulging ourselves with a “forbidden bite” once in a while can help us with the transition process towards healthy eating habits. It is important to know and learn how to use healthy ingredients, so that we can make delicious dishes without jeopardizing our health and body shape.

So, if you ever wondered how to change your eating habits easily, try following some of these tips. Changing our eating habits shouldn’t mean making sacrifices. Food means pleasure after all and may prove to be health-friendly and figure-friendly as well, if we want it to be so!

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