Healthy Eating Habits
When Healthy Eating Comes Naturally!

Healthy eating habits are developed over time. We learn our eating habits from our family, our friends, our culture and other influences such as these.

Ever notice how some people seem to just naturally eat healthy all of the time? If fact, they always seem to prefer and enjoy healthy food over junk food.

Wouldn't you like to be like them? How do they do that? What makes them different from you and me?

The Power of Habit

Habits are powerful behaviors that can define us in many ways.

Habits become routines. Often when we do something routinely, like brushing our teeth, we do it pretty much automatically.

You can do the same thing with healthy eating. You can form healthy eating habits and do them routinely. This will lead you to eating healthy automatically.

Eating Habits

Our eating habits are behaviors we have learned over our lifetime. Some of us have healthy eating habits, many of us have bad eating habits.

But, just as we learn bad habits, we can 'unlearn' habits with determination, focus and persistance.

We can change our eating habits.

All change begins with desire and commitment. If you desire to change and are committed to do what it takes, you can change.

Changing Our Eating Habits

One of the first steps to changing our bad eating habits is to learn just what healthy eating habits are.

Then we can look at our own eating habits and recognize what we need to change.

Once we know what we need to change, we can then begin to change.

Healthy Eating Habits

Here is a list of eating habits considered healthy:

• Recognize true hunger and only eat when you are hungry.
• Stop eating before you are full.
 
• Before you start eating, pray, thanking God for the wonderful food. Praise Him for providing such nourishing food.
• Take a moment to observe your food. See it for the delicious, nutrient-rich food it is. Think about how it nourishes you, heals you.
• Eat slowly- it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to realize when it is full.
• Chew thoroughly for proper digestion. After all, you should make your meal last at least 20 minutes!
• Never take seconds.
• Eat 'mindfully'- no TV, no reading while eating. Savor your food.
• Don't eat while standing up.
• No eating while cooking.
• Beware of unconcious, uncontrolled eating.
• Use smaller plates and bowls for your cooked portion of food.
• When eating cooked food, don't overload your plate.
• Beware of portion size for foods such as cooked food, nuts, seeds, nut butters and other calorie-dense food.
• Get a nice, large salad bowl for your daily salad, something pretty you will enjoy using every day.
• Eat a variety of foods. Occasionally try new foods.
• Prepare your cooked food in healthy ways- steamed, sauteed, roasted, baked.
• Use minimal salt. If you use salt, be sure it is a sea salt, or Celtic salt.
• Avoid processed foods. If you can't eat it fresh, next best is frozen.
• Plan for healthy snacking,
• Snack without guilt but limit snacking to twice daily.
• Make water and fresh juice your only beverages.
• Know your trigger foods. What foods will break your resolve to healthy eating habits?
• Get those trigger foods out of the house.
• Find a healthy substitute for your trigger food and ENJOY IT!
• Never eat your trigger food(s). Just like a former smoker or recovered alcoholic, never indulge in it again.
• Change your mind set: say, "I choose not to eat this. I choose to enjoy this instead."
• Stock up on healthy foods and snacks.
• Keep a written list of healthy snacks. Before you snack, look at the list for ideas. Choose from the list.
• Until healthy eating becomes a habit, plan ahead. What are you going to eat? When will you eat?
• Don't give in to cravings. Everytime you are successful, it will weaken the strength of the cravings and lessen the frequency.
• Not preparing food? Not eating? Then, stay out of the kitchen.
• Going out for a few hours? Plan and take snacks with you.
• Going to a restuarant? Plan ahead what you will eat. Many restaurants have menus on-line or in the phone book.
• Eating your cooked portion in a restaurant? Split it with someone or take half home. Most restaurant portions are too big.
• Breakfast, to eat or not to eat? If you find yourself binging during the day, eat breakfast but be sure it is still Hallelujah-approved foods.
• Quit eating after 6 or 7 p.m.
• Be sure to get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. You tend to slip on healthy habits when you are tired.

Plan for Success

Got the desire for healthy eating habits? Are you committed to change? Then plan for success!

Start with 1 or 2 bad eating habits. Why do you want to change it? What habit would you like instead?

It is much easier to substitute a good habit for a bad habit. So, choose your substitution.

Make a plan and write it down.

Read your plan every day.

Don't do the bad eating habit for 30 days, (or 30 times if you don't do it daily).

Exercise the healthy eating habit for 30 days, (or 30 times if you don't do it daily).

Write down your success and celebrate it! Congratulations!

Then, choose the next bad food habit you want to change and work on that.

Before you know it, healthy eating habits will come naturally to you!