Learning to like healthy food isn’t always that easy, especially if you’ve spent the majority of your life indulging in sweets and energy-draining carbs. Just like everything else in life, you can certainly train your mind and your body to crave natural whole foods, that will leave a lasting impression on your body. All it takes is a little bit of training your brain, to un-learn the rewards that you have grown accustomed to, when you ate the bad stuff. Here are five tips to keep you reaching for the berries instead of the bowls of ice cream.
1. Know your trigger foods. Be honest with yourself, and learn what triggers your cravings for those not-so-healthy foods. Maybe it is a time of day or a certain mood that gets your geared up to reach for the chocolate. Be prepared for this and have a healthy backup, like berries, available to snack on.
2. Visualize your goals. Try picturing yourself eating more sensible options and what you will look like when you reach your ideal weight.
3. Variety is the spice of life. Boredom can be draining, which is why you want to switch it up if you want to maintain focus on what you hope to achieve. Instead of eating chicken every night of the week, try dedicating a different meat or fish for dinner each night. This way you have something to look forward to and you never get bored.
4. Savor each bite. Instead of acting on impulse and grabbing for the nearest trigger food, plan out what you will eat, before you put it into your mouth, and savor every moment. Be sure to chew mindfully and give yourself a chance to taste the food before you swallow it.
5. Keep your house supplied with health foods. Out of sight, out of mind is usually a surefire way to avoid caving into cravings. Make sure your house is stocked with the healthy items that you are approved to eat, and have them ready to grab when you are faced with the conflict of choosing sugar or protein, or in other words bad or good.
Just like everything else we learn in life; these tendencies don’t happen overnight. They are the result of many poor decisions, and it’s never too late to reverse the cycle. You just might find that your body craves eggs instead of eggnog.
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