Are you trying to avoid eating unhealthy foods but can't fight your cravings? The fact is that some foods are just like drugs, so it is very difficult to stop eating them. Here is a good starting point to get you back on the right path to healthy eating. This article can help you.
Steps
Step 1. Identify your cravings
A craving for a particular food could indicate that something is missing from your diet. Find the foods you crave most below in Bold, and then take note of the possible substances that are missing in your diet.
- Chocolate Magnesium. Women should be careful during their menstrual cycle, as magnesium levels tend to drop. Instead of chocolate, try eating fruit, nuts, or taking a vitamin / mineral supplement.
- Sugar or simple carbohydrates Proteins & complex carbohydrates. A quick science lesson: carbohydrates break down into sugars. Since sugars are metabolized very quickly, they are not a good resource for long-term energy. The best source of energy includes complex proteins and carbohydrates, which break down much more slowly. Some good examples include whole grain or wild long grain rice, and pasta or bread made with whole wheat flour. It is called "wholemeal" because it includes the whole grain, of which the outer shell contains the germ, the bran and the nutrients of the grain. White rice and white flour have been deprived of these properties, leaving only the internal starch (simple carbohydrates).
- Fried foods Calcium, omega 3, acids, fats. Omega 3s are good fats! Try to eat more fish, or opt for milk, cheese, or eggs that contain these essential oils plus calcium (this will be written on the label).
- salt Hydration, vitamin B, chloride. When you crave something salty, try to drink some water instead. Additionally, stress can lead to a B vitamin deficiency, so if you're having a particularly tough time, take a vitamin B supplement mid-day.
Step 2. Eliminate temptation
Simply get rid of it, and remove any temptation from your home. To avoid buying more, never go shopping when you are hungry. When you have only healthy foods to eat at home, you will make healthy choices. When you have some cravings, it costs you a lot more effort to go looking for a treat if you have a healthy alternative at home.
Step 3. When you go to the supermarket, make an effort to buy healthy foods
Avoid ice cream, pre-frozen ready meals, white bread, candy, and snacks. If you can do this, it will make it harder and harder for you to eat the wrong foods at home.
Step 4. Replace your rituals
You don't need dessert after dinner. You don't need to eat popcorn or candy at the cinema. You don't need to accompany your coffee with a donut. To break these habits, find a healthy alternative beforehand, such as a fruit. You can take fruit with you to the cinema, and if someone asks you something, you can use a harmless little lie, that you are diabetic and this is part of your doctor's advice. Have a variety of healthy options available, such as a fresh vegetable salad that you can dress with lemon or vinegar or peppers, various fruits (remember that citrus fruits can have a lot of calories), apples, watermelon, rice cakes, raisins, dates, and other healthy snacks.
Step 5. Avoid boredom
Keep yourself active and busy so you don't always just think about food. There are many other things to do besides eating.
Step 6. Drink lots of water
The recommended water consumption does NOT include the water you get from food or coffee. If you are thirsty, this means that you are already dehydrating - and dehydration can often be confused with hunger. If you don't like water on its own, have a large pitcher of lemonade, cold tea or Crystal Lite handy. Another trick is to always keep a glass and a carafe of water in front of you. If you have it in front of you, you drink it.
Step 7. Most people need to lower their cholesterol levels to stay healthy or recover
In addition to understanding how food affects cholesterol levels, you also need to understand how your weight, physical activity and genetics play a role in your overall health.
Step 8. Reward yourself
Give yourself a treat from time to time as you establish new habits. But make sure it's just that, a small prize! A cookie or two, not a whole bag. If you lack willpower at the start, buy a small prepackaged snack so that is all you have available. A "day off" is a day on which you can give yourself that reward. But that doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want all day long!
Advice
- Start slowly. It's easier to adjust to a new routine if you gradually get closer to it.
- Eating healthy is a lifestyle, not a quick fix to a problem.
- "There is nothing that is as good as the feeling of feeling good."
- There are many other things you can do instead of nibbling on food. A small list: read the newspaper, watch a football match, draw a picture, mow the lawn, plant some flowers, drink a cup of tea, call a friend, go for a walk, groom your dog, watch a sitcom, learn a foreign language, perform a dance choreography, read a book, or research something. So enough with laziness!
- Do not overdo it. Eating healthy is great, but it's also okay to indulge in some unhealthy snacks every now and then.
- Eat your meals slowly, with other people, and on a table made to hold a plate and chairs around it.
- Try these healthy alternatives instead of snacks: a handful of roasted / salted almonds, granola bars, Go-Raw gluten-free snacks, rice cakes / soy chips, clementines, cereals.
Warnings
- Eating disorders affect 15% of young people. This number is growing. These ailments are very dangerous. The most common are Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa. We talk about Anorexia nervosa when you do not allow yourself to eat or when you induce vomiting, take laxatives or do excessive physical activity to lose weight, causing the body to starve. Bulimia is characterized by bingeing / purging behavior - where you consume large amounts of food uncontrollably, but then force yourself to vomit or take laxatives, exercise or fast (purge) in order not to gain weight after the binge. Both of these ailments can kill you, so always consume food moderately. If you really want to stay healthy, the best thing to do is eat good food with good nutritional value. If you suspect you have an eating disorder, seek professional help immediately.
- "In moderation" doesn't work for everyone. Some foods stimulate people, and just as an alcoholic can't drink just a glass of wine, a person addicted to sugar can't eat just a candy. It's best to cut out the foods that make you binge and replace them with healthy alternatives. This way you can eat normal portions of healthy food instead of craving and eating junk food.
