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Articles
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Putting Better Eating Into Practice
Involving Your Family
Having chosen to improve your diet, you may be faced with the challenges that any lifestyle change can present to others in your life. Eating is commonly seen as a social or family activity. In fact, friends and family often can influence our food choices and our efforts to improve our eating habits. If they understand your objectives for a healthier life, and how a nutritious diet contributes to that, they are sure to be on your side and do everything they can to help. Don't be afraid to ask for their support and encouragement. Even better, ask them to join you.
Here are some ways family members can help:
- Provide emotional support; encourage your efforts and celebrate your successes.
- Participate in meal planning and grocery shopping.
- Help you avoid temptation by putting away snacks, desserts, or other foods you've chosen to forego.
- Accept each individual's food choices and support rather than challenge them.
- Find shared activities that do not revolve around food.
- Choose a healthier lifestyle along with you.
Enhancing Your Kitchen
As you begin the process of improving your eating habits, it is important to keep it as simple and as painless as possible. Take a careful look around your kitchen. Is it working with you in your dietary improvements or against you? Are there things sitting out that are tempting to you? Maybe you have canisters of cookies or snacks in plain sight, always just an arm's reach away. Is your kitchen also a "social area," including things like a television, telephone, or desk? If so, do what you can to remove these activities from the kitchen and from their focus on food.
Follow these guidelines to make your kitchen a part of your healthier lifestyle:
- Keep high calorie/high fat (often the most tempting) foods and snacks out of the house - stop buying the foods that you are trying not to eat. And be sure that the foods you want to eat more of are readily available in your kitchen.
- Put the food you want to avoid out of sight. If not having the food in the house is not possible because of family and friends, then store foods in opaque containers and in cabinets where they are not readily visible and tempting.
- Replace the canister of cookies with a bowl of fresh fruit, and then feel good about reaching for a snack from the fruit bowl.
- Pick one place in your home for eating. By limiting the places you eat, you can be more in control of your eating habits. You will learn to associate eating with that one place and not associate it with other areas in the house.
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