Habits are Hard to Break

Making changes to our diets can be difficult and confusing. The news is filled with conflicting information and companies are just out to make money, not make anyone healthier. Most people are struggling with this issue. Not just you! As someone who used to weigh about 40 pounds more than I do today, I can tell you first hand that eating healthy is not always easy. In a world where food (especially the unhealthy and highly processed kind) is so readily available, it can be tough to make healthy choices. Our brains are designed to want foods that are high in sugar and carbohydrates. Humans as a species originally sought out these foods to compliment our high activity lifestyle. Our taste buds have been genetically engineered to crave high-calorie, high-fat foods that we used to need for energy—hunting, gathering, exploring the continent, etc. Hunter-Gatherers were always on the move to find adequate amounts of food and shelter. Even after the switch to Agriculture people were working fields for food and to provide everyday necessities. Humans, traditionally, were constantly walking, running, working, and in general being active for most of the day.

However, in our modern societies, fewer and fewer people are being as active on a daily basis as they should be. More people work in offices and sit behind desks and computers for hours upon hours every day. To make things worse, our foods have gotten less and less nutritious; yet much more readily available. Almost any break room in America will have some sort of candy, donuts, or even a vending machine. We as a people are consuming more and more fat, salt, and sugar.

Processed foods are not just tricking our brains to think they are a substance we want, processed foods are addicting. A 2010 study published in Nature Neuroscience found that when rats were regularly fed fast food, their brain chemistry changed—and not for the better. The rats became obese and lost the ability to determine when they were hungry (they would eat fatty foods even when administered electric shocks).

The good news is that we can change how our minds perceive healthy foods and we can retrain our taste buds. Gradual small changes, over time, is what will make a lasting impact on your health. That's how I started. I first made simple swaps in the meals I was already making. "How can I make this dish healthier?", I would always ask myself. Then it grew from there. Most importantly, I've been able to maintain the healthy habits and changes I've made. By reframing an all-or-nothing approach in favor of small, realistic changes, you'll be more likely to break the binge-diet cycle for good. It's perfectly fine to enjoy a little pizza or chocolate now and then, but you may find that eating healthy most of the time is not only possible, it's enjoyable!

https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/real-reason-breaking-bad-habits-so-hard

#goodchoices #goodhabits