Written by: Vanessa McLennan, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We all do it, we all get into bad eating habits, and it can be hard to get out of them. The thing is, we all get extremely comfortable with our habits. They become so ingrained that we do not realise we have a habit until we try to do something differently.
Our unconscious is very clever in that it has the capability for us to set up patterns of behaviour that make it easy for us to accomplish tasks without even thinking about it. The only problem is that our unconscious does not differentiate between good and bad habits. A bad habit only becomes a bad habit when the result that that habit is producing is no longer productive for us and leads to consequences that we do not want.
When we are getting something that we do not want, it is time for us to change our habits.
Here is how to change your bad eating habits.
1. Become aware
To change something, you first need to know what you want to change. This starts by being mindful of what you are doing. We think our habits are one action, but if we start paying attention, we will notice they are a sequence of thoughts and behaviours. When we can start paying attention to these, then that gives us the power to be in control of them instead of the habits being in control of us. Notice what triggers your habit, all the small actions that you take and how you feel afterward.
2. Decide what to change
We may have many bad habits or just one. You may not want to change all of the elements of the habit. For example, one of my clients used to eat lots and lots of crisps. She loved crisps, but obviously, they were not healthy for her. However, she did not want to give up the crisps, she just wanted to eat a lot less of them. She had a habit where she would watch a film and she would get two big bumper-sized bags of crisps and empty them into a bowl and eat the lot. We changed the habit to her eating a small bag of crisps and her eating out of the bag, not a bowl. That way, she enjoyed her crisps without overeating them.
3. What do you want instead
Knowing what you want helps you to change the habit to get the outcome that you do want. Your goal might be to lose weight, but when it comes to changing habits, it makes it easier when what you want is specific and positive. Instead of saying, I want to lose weight, a helpful goal might be I want to eat fruit instead of biscuits. Think about what changes you need to make to help you lose weight. What could a bad habit be changed to?
4. Make a plan of change
Now you know what you want to change, it will help your success to think of a plan of how to change it. This is thinking about the outcome and thinking about what you can do instead. One of my clients loves to sit down at the end of the evening when the kids are in bed, and she has her cup of tea with biscuits. The trouble is she ends up eating about half a pack of biscuits. She loves this time as it is her relaxation time, but she is putting on weight. We came up with three other options she could do instead. Which was a) not having any biscuits, b) eating a piece of fruit instead or c) eating one square of dark chocolate. Thinking of three options widens your ideas, and you are more likely to find a good option. My client went for option C. Because she had a plan, it gave her the time to prepare, and she was able to buy dark chocolate with less sugar. She was able to break it into one square piece beforehand, so when it came to the evenings, she had one square piece waiting. Preparation and planning were the keys here to habit change.
5. Change one habit at a time
As humans, we make changes little by little. When we change too much at once, it is hard for the new habits to be sustainable. Take one habit at a time. Keep making that habit for 30 days before attempting to change your next habit.
When you know how changes can be made easier to change, be prepared to fall back at times but pick yourself up and start again and you will be on your way to forming new and healthier habits.
Vanessa McLennan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Vanessa McLennan is a hypnotherapist/psychotherapist specialising in Binge Eating, Weight loss and obesity. After experiencing challenges in life, she found therapy and it was a life-changing experience for her. Her life moved forward so much that she wanted to help others. She started specialising in weight loss and disordered eating because her own poor health caused her to clean up her own diet and healthy living became a passion of hers. She helps people who have been on many diets and that have not worked. Their eating has gotten out of control and they can't escape the cycle between eating too much or restriction. Are you ready and open to exploring your mind and emotions to help clear your unconscious saboteurs? To go within to work on the cause of your habits and not just the symptoms? Vanessa takes her clients on a healing journey where they heal their relationship with themselves and with food. An exploratory, liberating, life-changing journey
