Changing Your Eating Habits

We are bombarded with advertisements pushing delicious looking, fat filled, and obesity producing food in our faces every single day. We hear it on the radio; see it on TV and on billboards and even in newspapers. We go on a diet and try to totally turn our eating habits around. We go from eating hamburgers, French fries, pizza, hot dogs, and other junk to eating lettuce and drinking water. If we are really disciplined we make it a week or so. But like most people, we are back to our old habits within days. The change is just too drastic and makes it next to impossible for us to stick to our diets.

I have slowly improved my eating habits over the years. I have done this in a way that has been painless to me and has replaced bad diet choices with good eating habits. Of course, before any diet changes you should consult your physician. I was not in any immediate health danger and therefore did not need to immediately change my habits. What follows is not a "how to" article but more of an article on how I changed my eating habits over time.

There was a time in my life when I received my daily intake from fast food restaurants. I was in a sales position and on the road most of the time. I would have the burger, fries and coke combo from a different fast food joint every day. I was much younger then and blessed with a decent metabolism so I did not see much negative effect from all of the unhealthy eating. It was upon my taking a physical for another job that I discovered my cholesterol was not in a good range. I was way too young for something like this to happen and I knew that I must change my ways. I attempted to totally overhaul my eating habits in one day. I would do well for awhile and then go back to my old ways. I had made improvements but they were not ingrained good habits like I was hoping for.

Upon much reflection I decided to go a little easier on myself. I decided to start substituting food choices one by one until they became habit. My first substitution was with my beverage choice. Instead of having the cola I would order water. It was kind of a mental reward system for me. I would eat the burger and fries guilt free as long as I drank water instead of cola. I know that you are probably thinking "how can you eat a burger and fries guilt free?". I could do this guilt free because I knew that it was just a stage in my long term diet plan. I chose water as my first diet choice because it came easy for me. It required very little discipline on my part. After a month or so drinking water with a meal became second nature to me. It was no longer a sacrifice; it was a habit.

After that came the French fries. I substituted the French fries with a plain baked potato. Burger diet now consisted of a burger, plain baked potato and water. I actually started enjoying the baked potato rather quickly. They are much tastier than grease drowned fries. You can see where I am going with this. If you have been trying to lose weight for any time now, you know what a good food is and what a bad food is. You will know where and what to substitute. I continued these substitutions and still do to this day.

Now I am more aware of an unhealthy habit starting. I am very conscious of what I eat. Some of the great things about these diet choices are that they became habits; the desire for the unhealthy foods was replaced with a desire for healthy foods. Nowadays I rarely eat out. I have lost my taste for such foods.

Some of my diet substitutions:

Water for Cola, Baked potato for Fries, Whole Wheat for white bread, Soy Milk for cow's milk, pretzels for chips, salads for desserts, Meal replacement shake for cereal, and the list goes on and on.

Habits are built by doing something over and over. I have read it takes around 30 days to establish a habit. Do not stop your substitutions with the foods you eat?.carry it over to other parts of your life. For example, substitute the elevator with the stairs, substitute the car with a bicycle, give up the evening news and replace it with a walk.

Yours in health,

Bill Herren

Discouragement comes when we feel overwhelmed and want results yesterday. Take your time, develop habits, and enjoy a leaner healthier body!

Bill Herren is the webmaster for http://www.weightloss-articles.com.

Everything weight loss related! Weight loss success stories, product reviews, exercise articles, weight loss recipes, and diet articles. All free and all designed to help you lose weight!

---

How to Lose Weight On A Gluten Free Diet

Many celiacs lose weight before they are diagnosed; indeed it... Read More

Weightless Workout - Strength Training Without Equipment

Resistance training, also known as strength training, does not require... Read More

How Did I Get So FAT!

"I never saw it coming, how did I get so... Read More

Obesity Shortens Life Expectancy

Steady gains made in improvement in life expectancy may be... Read More

Weight Loss: Carbs? Or No Carbs?

Dietitians just plain don't like low-carb or high-protein diets.Whether it's... Read More

Get NeanderThin on the Cave Man Diet

Are you up to a cave man diet? You won't... Read More

High Protein Diets Can Have a ?Bad? Impact on Your Career

With all the excitement regarding high protein diets, one area... Read More

Are Weight Loss Supplements Worth It?

What do you think of the hundreds of weight loss... Read More

Eat Healthy for Life

Let's not talk about diets. Diets are punishment ? like... Read More

The Crazy Amazing Diet Maker

This past Christmas Season, as most of us stuffed our... Read More

Causes of Childhood Obesity

Obesity is defined as an excessive accumulation of body fat.... Read More

Is Your Goal Really Weight Loss?

Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a... Read More

Fast Weight Loss for Special Occasions

Losing weight quickly is not advisable as most of the... Read More

Learn the Truth About Weight Loss and Getting Great Abs

Debunking The Ab MythAb training has been done to death... Read More

Weight Loss in Children

What is "too young" to begin a weight loss program... Read More

Lose Weight Permanently And Maximize Health With New Diet & Exercise Habits

I'm sick of all the fad diets I see people... Read More

The Importance of Vitamins when Dieting

In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More

The No Diet Way to Lose Weight and Keep it off!

Yes, you read it right?no diets!The first step in this... Read More

How to Design the Perfect Diet

All Diets Are Based on the Same Premise: Eat Less... Read More

Tuna and Water Diet

Ready for a hardcore diet to get lean in a... Read More

You Dont Have to Stop Eating Out Because You Are On Diet

Diners have become more health-conscious the last few years, and... Read More

Dont Just Melt Fat Off - Burn It Off With A Blow Torch!

Cardio Exercise...A huge variety of fitness activities provide cardiovascular benefits.... Read More

Developing Mental Toughness For Permanent Weight Loss

Losing weight and keeping it off is much more than... Read More

Prejudice and Obesity - Have You Been a Victim?

It's a sad comment on human nature that prejudice and... Read More

Find the Right New Year?s Resolution to Get into Your Best Shape Ever!

Yep, it is that time of year again! Time to... Read More

The Truth About Diet Myths

How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge... Read More

Bodybuilding Weightloss Diet Tips And Strategies

Just the facts on bodybuilding weightloss strategies that work. No... Read More

Tell Me - Do You Really Like Being Fat?

Once upon a time, I fretted about going to a... Read More

Fat Does Not Make You Fat

Fat does Not Make You Fat. One of the other... Read More

Why Does the Weight Come Back?

Before many Australians recently, a devastating story unfolded on a... Read More

Atkins Diet ? Simple Advice

Just like any other diet, the Atkins diet can become... Read More

A Startling Fact About Losing Dangerous Belly Fat -- Without Exercise

The story broke in the international press on October 4th,... Read More

Breakfast -How Not To Start The Day Part II

The Order of Energy UtilizationBack to our table of stored... Read More