Do you currently fear or dread mealtimes, and are you always wanting to get them over with as quickly as possible? There may be many reasons why you dread mealtimes, and one of these reasons may be because you’re not eating as healthily as you would like to. To eat healthily, you need to adopt healthier eating habits. Adopting healthier habits is easy to do when you know where (and why) change needs to happen.

Embracing Healthier Eating Habits to Take Control of Your Well-being

Create a Food and Drinks Log

It can be hard to see where unhealthy habits come from unless you monitor your mealtimes and food consumption. Start looking at what you’re eating each day, and start keeping a food log. A food log is going to show you when you’re eating and what you’re consuming in an average day or week. When you reflect on your food and drinks log, you may be surprised to find that your diet isn’t as varied as you thought it was. You may also find that it’s full of sugary, processed foods. A food log should cover everything that you eat from the minute you wake up to when you go to bed. Include all drinks that you have and include any snacks.

Focus on Consumption

Healthier habits aren’t just about what you consume, but also when you consume food and drink. You may find that your consumption of food and drink is lower than it should be because you’re having trouble swallowing. This may be a temporary issue, or you may be suffering from dysphagia. Adding a thickener such as SimplyThick powder and gel for dysphagia will help you maintain levels of consumption that are healthy and sustainable. A thickener is going to make drinking and eating much easier, and less stressful, as you’ll be able to swallow with more comfort.

Try to Eat at Regular Times

You may fancy a snack at 10 p.m. at night just before you head to bed, but is this really what you should be doing? You can often find that you’re contributing to poor eating habits by eating at irregular times. Try and aim to consume meals and food around set times. This way, you can stay in control of what you’re consuming.

Weigh Out Portions

When you reflect on your food and drinking log, you may see that you’re not controlling your portions. This may signal that you’re eating too much, or you’re not eating enough, especially if you’re then snacking too. Try weighing out portions of food and try to make sure you have a plate of food that is equally split up. For example, have a third of your plate dedicated to protein, a third to vegetables, and a third to carbohydrates.

Trying New Foods

Your eating habits can change if you learn to try new foods. Trying new foods can be difficult, especially if you’re so used to eating a certain food (or type of foodstuff). Trying to introduce one new item of food with each meal you eat can allow you to change at a pace that suits you.