You have been stuck at home for a while now and your favorite pair of jeans are clinging to you so tightly that you can barely walk to the refrigerator. You haven’t been to the gym in almost a year and you find it uncomfortable to jog in a mask.
If you’ve used your mouth for more chip munching than conversation, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you won’t cause an earthquake when the world finally gets back to normal and you can go out of the house. You don’t need fancy juice cleanses or prepared meals, it is all about changing your bad eating habits.
Eat Slowly
It may seem like there is an apocalypse on the horizon, but it is not here yet, so you can relax, no one is going to take your food away. Take a breath in between bites and savor your meal. Don’t eat when the TV is turned on because you can become distracted and not realize how much you are eating. It takes 20 minutes for your body to realize it is full and the slower you eat, the less food you will want.
Don’t Eat When You Are Not Hungry
If you work at a stressful job, it can be tempting to go into the break room and eat your feelings in the form of tiny bags of salty snacks or the aging donuts that are leftover from a staff meeting.
You might stop to grab a cup of coffee from a fast food place on the way home from work and get seduced by the smell of french fries. You may also plonk yourself down in front of the television with a bag of chips as soon as you get home and not get up until it’s time for bed.
Although it is good to eat regular meals, you should listen to your body and only eat when you are actually hungry. If you are frustrated at work, you can go for a walk outside instead of walking to the break room and you can always make coffee at home instead of stopping to buy it from a place that also sells food. If you feel like you just have to chomp on something when you’re angry, get some celery sticks and carrot sticks and go to town. That will soon put a stop to your bad eating habits.
Eat Ethically
Did you know that little children are employed to pick cocoa beans? Do you have any idea how animals are treated on factory farms? Were you aware that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle’s had terrible environmental records? If you boycott products that are bad for people, animals, and the earth, you will help yourself stay healthy in the process. Guilt can be a great motivator.
Eating whole organic foods will be better for you and the world around you. Going vegetarian can be good for your waistline as well as being politically correct. It takes 10 pounds of plant protein to produce one pound of beef. The earth will last a lot longer if humans stop raising animals for food. Why not look online and try a vegan recipe or two?
Beating bad eating habits and eating healthy isn’t as hard as it sounds. With a little effort, you can be a healthy weight and have room to breathe in those jeans of yours.
*collaborative post
