How To Break Free From Unhealthy Behaviour

NC – Do you recycle New Year’s resolutions?

Once again we tell ourselves: Lose weight. Don’t eat sugar or white flour. Go to the gym five days a week. Does that sound familiar?

These old resolutions are the “repent” phase of the ‘eat-repent-repeat’ cycle that keeps people trapped in old behaviours. Since resolutions are all about change, now is the time to think about making new New Year’s Resolutions.

Tristaca Curley, a registered dietitian and author of Fuelingwithfood.com, suggests setting the following goals that are positive, mindful, and apply common-sense principles of balance and moderation:

Eat what you love. Instead of focusing on what you can’t have, remember all foods can fit into a healthy diet—including favourites like a slice of pizza, a can of soda, and even chocolate.

As Mary Poppins said: “Enough is as good as a feast.” This sage advice can take many forms. Share a small pizza instead of a large one. Make snack-size bags of nuts and dried fruit to take to work. Opt for smaller portions of your favourite food and beverages, such as Coke mini-cans or a few squares of chocolate, to satisfy your cravings.

Love what you eat. Mindful eating—or, eating with intention and attention—allows you to enjoy eating more, while eating less. We often eat out of boredom or habit, but by shifting focus, you will soon learn to enjoy food.

Curley recommends, “Eat with the intention when you’re done of feeling better than when you started. Savour the experience and the appearance, flavours, aromas and textures of food. Finally, listen to your body’s cues that you’re full so that you don’t over-indulge.”

Do what you love. Too often people use exercise as a way to pay penance for eating the wrong food or to earn the right to eat. This negative approach makes exercise difficult to enjoy and sustain.

The key to healthy living is discovering physical activity that you really like. Remember when you were a kid? Did you love to play ball, ride your bike, or walk around with your friends? Nobody made you do that—it was just fun.

You may be on your way to a new you.