There’s always a point in our lives when we look back and wonder how certain circumstances would be if we had done something different. It could be our career path, a personal matter, or even an embarrassing situation; it could also be health related, with questions such as: What if I had stuck to this workout? Or what if I had started dieting at a younger age? We’ll never know the answers to those questions and we can’t reverse time, but what we can do is take matters into our own hands in the present and do something to improve our lifestyle.
One of the first habits we develop at an early age is how we eat, from the food we consume to the amount of meals we have throughout the day. These habits become patterns as the years go by and some of them may be healthy, like drinking a big glass of water as soon as you wake up, while others are more harmful to your health. Bad eating habits are one of the most common struggles throughout the world with 30% of its total population struggling with obesity or obesity-related illnesses[1].
Many of our patients aim to change their diet, whether it’s out of necessity following any type of bariatric surgery or to try and reverse years of bad eating habits. At LIMARP®, our medical team counts with licensed nutritionists that can help you achieve your goals. They go over your medical history and talk with you about your expectations to create a nutrition plan that covers all your needs.
Each case is different and in this article, we will talk about general steps you can take to improve your eating habits and reverse any patterns that can be harming your health. However, if you suffer from any underlying issue that should be addressed in a more thorough way, we recommend you speak to your doctor before implementing any drastic changes to your lifestyle.
How to Start
According to the CDC[2] (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), “permanently improving your eating habits requires a thoughtful approach in which you reflect, replace, and reinforce”. These last three words are important because they’re a reminder for you to be patient with your progress and that while quick results may be satisfying, they’re not long-lasting. They’re also not healthy and the point of reversing bad eating habits is to implement a sustainable diet that benefits all aspects of your health.
Once you meet your nutritionist, they will ask about your eating habits, all of them, and also if you have any triggers that may drive you to unhealthy patterns, such as binging. When they finish their examination, they will replace some of the foods you consume with healthier options and reinforce a routine that consists of better habits.
Although these changes will be hard, they won’t be as drastic as you may think. It’s good to be mindful of your habits and creating lists can also help you reverse your bad patterns. For example, you can keep a type of diary to identify what drives you toward certain habits, such as stressful situations, not having enough time to prepare a meal from scratch, or simply skipping meals.
This exercise will allow you to start acting differently and push you to take steps in order to reverse these bad habits and start replacing them with good ones. Reversing bad habits works best when you start small, or in this case, slow. What does this mean? First of all, it doesn’t mean that you should be slow in taking action, but rather being mindful of how you eat.
For example, studies have proven that savoring your food can give your brain more time to process when it’s really full[3] and also reduce the amount of calories you consume.
While this is only one example of how you can replace one habit with another, there are many other steps you can take to reverse and reinforce new patterns into your life, such as going to bed early, keeping track of your water intake, and introducing some kind of workout to your daily routine. We also want to remind you to be patient with yourself and your process. Bad eating habits can take time to be reversed, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Contact Us to Learn More
If you’re looking to reverse your bad eating habits and are looking for guidance, schedule an appointment with one of our doctors. We can help determine the right treatment for you. Contact us online anytime or give us a call at (619) 373-0229.
References
[1] “Most Obese Countries 2022”. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-obese-countries. (Accessed June 28, 2022).
[2] “Improving Your Eating Habits”. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/eating_habits.html. (Accessed June 28, 2022). [3] Hawton K, Ferriday D, Rogers P, Toner P, Brooks J, Holly J, Biernacka K, Hamilton-Shield J, Hinton E. Slow Down: Behavioural and Physiological Effects of Reducing Eating Rate. Nutrients. 2018 Dec 27;11(1):50. doi: 10.3390/nu11010050. PMID: 30591684; PMCID: PMC6357517.