The 5-Step Guide to Building Healthy Eating Habits That Last For Life
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
What are the Benefits of Creating Healthy Eating Habits?
We know that we need to eat healthier and exercise more, but it’s not always easy to change our habits. It can be hard to find the motivation or willpower to do something that is good for us. Luckily, there are a lot of ways to help make healthy eating habits stick.
Step 1: Identify the Main Reasons Why You Struggle to Build Healthy Eating Habits
There are many reasons why people struggle to build healthy eating habits — these range from lack of time, lack of motivation, and distractions.
I found that the most common reason for not being able to create healthy eating habits is that people don’t have a plan. We know what they should be doing, but we don’t know how to do it.
Step 2: Figure Out Why You’re Struggling and How you Can Fix It
This is a difficult step for many people. It is hard to admit that you are struggling and it can be even harder to figure out what you need to do to get back on track.
I’ve identified two main reasons why people struggle with motivation:
1) Lack of clear direction
2) Lack of clear goals
To fix these problems, look at your life from the perspective of a map. You want to make sure that your life has a clear direction and that it has clear goals in order to stay motivated.
Step 3: Create Your Meal and Snack Plans Ahead of Time to Consume Healthier Foods and Reduce Cravings
Some of the most common reasons for overeating are not having a plan for what to eat and when. Planning ahead will help you avoid those cravings and overeating.
The first step is to create your meal and snack plans. This will help you stay on track with your weight loss or healthy eating goals. You should also make sure that you have a variety of foods in your fridge or pantry so that you don’t get bored with the same old thing.
Next, break down your meals into portions so that you know how much food to cook, prepare, or buy at the grocery store. This will prevent overbuying which can lead to waste and possibly even overeating again.
Step 4: Build Healthy Eating Habits by Using Accountability
Accountability is a key factor in building healthy eating habits.
There are many ways to build accountability into your life, but one of the easiest is finding someone to hold you accountable.
This person can be a family member, friend, coworker, or even an online community.
Find someone who will check in with you and ask how your day went. They can ask about what you ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They can also ask about how much water you drank and if there were any temptations that came up during the day that you were able to resist.
Step 5: Reward Yourself and Celebrate Success! Now That You’ve Established Healthy Eating Habits, It’s Time for Maintenance
What you need to do is reward yourself for the work you put in, so that you can continue to be motivated. If you don’t reward yourself, it will be harder to maintain your new healthy eating habits.
Changing your habits takes time and consistency. Take your time, give yourself grace and do what’s best for you!
