10 Oct ATTITUDE DETERMINES YOUR HEALTHY EATING CHOICES
When it comes to weight loss, attitude is everything. Turns out, your attitude toward healthy eating plays a big factor in the choices you make at the grocery store too. A recent study found it’s not about where you shop that contributes to healthy eating choices, but it’s all in your head.
Previous research shows shopping at low-cost supermarkets is associated with higher obesity rates. But shopping at Whole Foods doesn’t mean you’re a health nut by default. A recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics analyzed whether attitudes toward healthy eating are associated with diet quality among shoppers at high-cost, low-cost, and medium-cost supermarkets.
The results, which were taken from a survey of 963 adults, showed shoppers at high-cost supermarkets had higher-quality diets. However, when attitude was included in the equation, these results were insignificant. Those with positive attitudes toward healthy eating had equally high-quality diets, regardless of where they chose to grocery shop.
The first step toward successful weight loss isn’t cutting calories; it’s changing your attitude. My patients who keep off the weight they lose change their entire outlook on food. Follow my tips to get started, and change your eating habits today!
Focus on your food. When was the last time you really tasted your food? Our lives are jam-packed. It’s easy to scarf down your lunch between meetings or eat dinner with your favorite TV show playing in the background. But when you do this, you don’t really taste your food. Healthy foods can taste delicious. Savor each bite by putting your fork down while you chew and taste various flavors. Learn what you like and don’t like. By mentally focusing on your food you take the first step toward awareness of your attitude and eating mindfully in the present moment. Through this, you can move toward choosing foods you feel positive about that also promote health and well-being.
Celebrate your achievements the healthy way. When you reach a milestone, don’t make a beeline for the junk food aisle. Instead, reward yourself with something non-edible. Treat yourself to a spa day, take a mini vacation, or splurge on a new outfit you’ve been eyeing. Rewarding yourself with junk food is just taking a step backward. Change your mindset to stop looking at food as a reward, and you will see your food choices significantly improve.
Remind yourself why you want to lose weight. Find your motivation, and use that motivation to get through cravings and help you overcome negative thoughts. Whether you want to be able to keep up with your kids, have more energy, look great at your friend’s wedding, decrease your medication dosage, or just improve overall health, it’s important to have a motivator to help you stick to your plan. Changing your attitude and eating habits won’t happen overnight. It’s a journey that takes time and careful planning.