From the very first bite of chocolate or candy you eat, your brain discovers the wonder that is sugar. From there you branch out and your brain quickly becomes obsessed with eating as much sugar as possible. This could come in the form of candy, ice cream, soda, and much more. When you eat sugar, there is an instant gratification that your brain comes to expect. After time passes, you need more sugar to experience the same effect. Eventually you realize you will never have that original feeling of euphoria, and consuming sugar becomes a habit.
Similar to sugar, there are other foods that are easily addictive as well including sodium and fat. These foods lead to laziness due to a lack of energy, emotional instability, and weight gain. Many of our first-time patients struggle with unhealthy eating habits, and they are difficult to get away form. Society is consistently pushing unhealthy options to the forefront, making it difficult to form healthy habits. As the pace of our lives becomes even more hectic, the easier it becomes to make unhealthy choices.
When it comes to healthy eating habits, they can be just as difficult to make as the unhealthy ones are to break. Here are our tips to help accomplish your health goals.
Be Conscious of What You Consume
Many of us claim to want to eat healthier meals, but we often don’t even realize what it is we’re eating. That makes it tricky for us to improve our diets. The easiest way to keep track of what you’re actually consuming is to log it. There are plenty of free apps to do this that even count your calories and macros. Be sure to track everything you eat: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages, etc. Not only will your food log be more detailed, but you will have gained an increased awareness of what you consume.
Next you will look over your food log and see what foods are the culprits. Look out for foods that are very high in calories or have high sugar, sodium, or fat contents. When you take this approach, you will have an easier time replacing not-so-healthy foods with healthier options. This way you can maintain a similar eating schedule while eliminating unhealthy foods.
Lastly, preparation is essential. When you plan and prepare your own meals, you will be more likely to stick to your plan, break your old habits, and replace them with healthy ones.
Visualization
The challenge is really mind over matter when it comes to forming healthy habits. We’ve found visualization to be an effective technique, and it is one that is often used by elite athletes. Visualization is the practice of seeing your goals in your mind. It requires you to focus on every single tiny detail of what you want to achieve, over and over. If your goal is to have a fit, strong, energetic body, then visualize yourself that way and how you will get there. Imagine how you will move and what it will feel like to live your life with such vitality. Visualization is a great way to motivate yourself to make healthy food choices!
When it comes to having a healthy lifestyle, chiropractic can help you get there. But you’ve got to do some of the work yourself, and that starts with forming health habits. Contact us today to see how we can help you achieve your health goals!
