Changing the way you’ve done something for a while is not the easiest thing to do. It’s definitely not easy when it comes to changing eating habits. Americans are currently changing the way a lot of things are done and eating habits are one of them. Here are some tips to help you change your eating habits to healthier eating habits.
Derail Existing Bad Habits – Research has shown that 40% of our daily activities are performed over and over again because we repeat what seems to be working. We form associations between cues and behaviors from the things we do daily. The first step to forming new habits is to break the associations with the cues and behaviors that causes use to do the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve. For example, If you want to switch out your morning coffee ritual for water, hide the coffee pot and leave an empty glass for water on the counter.
Repeat New Behaviors – There’s plenty of sayings like it takes 21 or 90 days for something to become a habit, but one thing for sure is that the more you do something over and over again the more reinforcement there is and the more likely it will become a new habit over time without you noticing it.
Create Cues for Healthy Patterns- Our brain makes associations with cues and behaviors, so we can help the train our brain by being more healthy by creating context cues. For example, when you cook yourself a healthy dinner, make some time to prepare a healthy lunch for work the next day too!
Question Conventional Notions– A lot of people end up talking themselves into quitting something because they hang onto the notions about what will work. The moment people start to think that something won’t work they stop giving it the chance to work. It’s important to keep an open mind and remember that anything that takes change requires time.
Find Support- Everything is easier with support. It is a critical step in forming new healthy habits. Finding support can come from anywhere ranging from your friends and family or to online support groups.
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