The goal is to start eating healthier food or eat the right amounts at the right times. Switching to a healthier diet can be incredibly hard when we are constantly surrounded by cheap but very tasty junk food or quick ready-made meals. However, with a good amount of determination and some basic tips you can develop healthier eating habits. Learn to recognize emotional eating, be aware of the reasons that diets fail and make use of these not so well-known tricks and tips.
Boogie Your Way to a Cleaner Home
Hand on heart we could all put a bit more effort into home maintenance. In order to keep on top of your household chores you will need to vacuum every other day, wash the dishes, do some dusting, wash and iron your clothes and go up and down some stairs at least ten times a day. This is actually a great way to exercise and is fun if you add some music to the mix. You will be spending time on your feet, moving muscles in your back, stomach, arms and legs, all of which help you get fitter and burn off those extra calories, and your home will look great too!
Brush Your Teeth
This is one of the lesser-known tricks that really works! Brushing your teeth after a meal is a sign that eating time is over and it also leaves that strong minty taste in your mouth that makes everything taste weird. You won’t want to eat anything for at least 15 minutes after brushing your teeth (until the minty taste diminishes). This really helps ensure both clean teeth and that you don’t revisit the kitchen looking for snacks once the meal is over.
Read a book instead of watching TV
We all eat when we watch TV. Whether it be a snack or a meal on a tray it is much harder to do if your hands are holding a book. A good book, particularly one that keeps you engaged, is not something you’ll want to leave chocolate smudges on and it requires a lot more focus than watching TV. Your mind will be engaged so you will forget about snacking and as your hands will be holding the book you will find it less comfortable to eat.
Photograph your food
No, not to upload to Instagram! We all know the method of writing down everything we eat (this is supposed to scare us into eating less)? Rather than writing down every crumb you imbibe, take a picture of your meal with your smartphone. A visual account of what you are eating will help curb your intake. Before every meal take a look at the photos from the food you consumed throughout the day. This will enable you to make a more informed decision of what and how much you eat each meal. It will also point out your little ‘cheats’ such as the fried sweet potato chips on your salad.
Give Up the Guilt
After a particularly unhealthy meal or binge don't give yourself a hard time. Stressing about what you have eaten will only make you eat more and as dieters are prone to eat when they are stressed so this is simply counterproductive and makes you more miserable by ensuring failure. One bad day is just that, one bad day. When you wake up tomorrow morning you get to start again from scratch.
Stay tuned for next week's resolution to "Reduce Stress"