What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it- Maya Angelou.
The story of how I changed my eating habit features a lot of failures. I tried several times, and I would land flat on my face. Then get up each time, only to end up exactly where I started.
My every day back then often featured more or less sugary drinks, excess oil, and all things high in calories. My breakfast alone had over 500 calories, and this is usually after waking up once or twice for a midnight snack.
My struggle was that every time I tried to change what and how I ate, I could not function well at my job and throughout the day. To put it lightly, I had become addicted to toxic food.
The consequence for me wasn’t that I became obese. I wasn’t fat. But, soon enough, I got diagnosed with high cholesterol. I was headed to an early grave or a very unhealthy old age.
According to the WHO, the year 2006 recorded more than 1.9 billion adults above 18 as obese. You can only imagine the figure today!
From my eyelids, anyone could see that I had high cholesterol because of xanthelasma. I soon began to lose my confidence. Every day I felt weak and dull.
I was spiraling down emotionally. Then on a particular Wednesday a few years ago, I can remember quite vividly when I decided to take my feeding habits seriously. You could say I had had enough. That resolution changed my life.
Power Of Change
In his book “The Rational Optimist”, Matt Ridley expressed a fundamental truth when he said,
“Not inventing, and not adopting new ideas, can itself be both dangerous and immoral.” This means in a bid to change how you eat, you must figure out new ways.”
“Change” follows the principle of cause and action, yin and yang. When you change something, it causes a shift in you. If you sleep late, you wake up late. Sleep early and wake up early. There is always a link.
This principle also holds when it comes to changing terrible eating habits. When you eat an apple, your body reacts positively. If you choose a burger, your body also reflects it. It is always abuse, cause and action.
But you know this already. Over time, your body has shown you what happens when you feast unapologetically and consistently on high calories food like burgers. However, just like me those years ago, you still prefer burgers.
However, the trick is in repetitive actions. Every time you take a burger, you train yourself to do so. The problem is you have become better at making that decision easily—the same thing when you choose the lift daily at work over taking the steps.
In the same way, if you want to see change, it's all about making one right decision after the other. It’s a war of daily choices. Some days, you win, and some days you lose.
Chip and Dan Heath, in their book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, explain that change is possible and often follows a pattern. One of which is to change bit by bit.
All you need to do is to start making smaller decisions. That one decision, which, if taken consistently, over would soon become a part of you
You can take water instead of sugary drinks after a heavy workout.
You can choose the stairs one day at a time.
You can do a 3-minute workout today and see if you can go 5 minutes tomorrow.
You can buy fruits instead of candies.
There are tens of smaller decisions like these that you can make that will help you transition into a more healthy eating habit.
Eating Habits for Breakfast
There is nothing better than a proper breakfast- Sophie Dahl
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. Breakfast fuels my body for the first 6 hours of the day.
As stated earlier, before I changed my diet, I would eat heavily, in the morning, instead of taking something light which made me feel heavy all day. Ironically it didn't stop me from pushing more calories down my gut throughout the day.
If you want terrific ideas for healthy breakfasts, I will advise you to read The Breakfast Bible: 100+ Favorite Recipes to Start the Day by Williams Sonoma.
Initially, I needed help to change my breakfast habit. But it became more manageable after a few days of trial, taking it one breakfast at a time.
I eat an apple, sprouts, and green tea for breakfast. I can't say that it is the best breakfast for me. But, it is a more healthy option for me. One that leaves me juiced up to face the rigorists of the day.
Focus on Your Goals
People care more when they are working towards a goal. Are you working to lose weight to look fit and younger? How important is it for you to lose weight?
Setting goals is an essential tool when you want to change a habit. With a goal, your mind becomes fixed as you work assiduously towards it.
The book “Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want - Faster Than You Ever Thought” by Brian Tracy explains the importance of setting goals and focusing on them as the key to a well-rounded life.
For me, all I wanted was to be able to spend my fifties and sixties in good health. This is very important to me. This goal drove me to make changes.
Setting a goal is relatively easy. All you need to do is ask yourself important questions. If you intend to lose weight, then ask yourself the tough questions.
How much do I weigh?
How much do I want to weigh
What is the excess weight?
How many extra calories have I been taking daily?
How can I reduce those calories?
Providing answers to this will give you clarity. You will be better directed and be able to seek external help when necessary.
Make a list
“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”― Marcus Aurelius.
If you track your day, you can achieve your results faster. It keeps you accountable. It tells you where you need improvement. ‘
Keeping tabs on oneself is a flex of self-discipline and one of the most essential steps to change. How can you change what you don’t know?
If you spend 3 hours watching TV, you have wasted 3 hours doing nothing. Also, being inactive during those hours is terrible for your health.
Biomed Central says the chances of developing heart-related diseases and diabetes increase due to inactivity or sitting idle.
Do you drink often? How much do you drink? Drinking is also harmful for weight loss. The more you drink, the more you become stressed.
And so, the more data you can get about how you spend your day, what you do, eat, and your most frequent habits will go a long way in helping determine how to make good food decisions.
Conclusion
“Not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too."
Change is painful, and it can be demanding, but it is often what saves our lives.
Always remember that food-related ailments plague billions of people on Earth.
But more importantly, remember that many are changing to live a better life.
Be mindful, and make changes per decision.