You wake up with the best intentions to eat healthier, maybe even planning your meals the day before. You feel motivated and ready to tackle the day. But then, it happens. You see that box of donuts on the kitchen counter or those tempting cookies. You resist, moving to the pantry, only to hear the subtle call of a bag of salty chips. Before your healthy eating plan even properly begins, you’re already fighting off cravings from all the tempting food around you.
This is a common struggle if you live with people who don’t worry about what they eat. Despite your best efforts, you might find yourself constantly battling your willpower to avoid these delicious sabotages. So, how do you eat better when you’re surrounded by so much junk food?
Why It’s So Hard to Eat Well
It’s no secret that our everyday environments make it tough to eat healthy. From how available and convenient bad food is, to social pressures and office gatherings, it sometimes feels like a miracle to make any progress with healthy eating. Let’s look at why it’s so easy to eat poorly and why reaching your healthy eating goals might feel like an uphill battle.
- Food is everywhere: Whether it’s already in your house or just a quick drive-thru away, unhealthy food seems to find its way into our lives. There’s a fast-food place on almost every corner, plus plenty of delivery services ready to bring it right to your door. Somehow, it ends up in our homes, just waiting for us to eat it.
- Bad food is easy to eat: You get home, and you’re starving. What do you do? You could spend time making something healthy, or you could simply grab a handful from the closest bag or box for some quick, empty calories to satisfy your hunger. The easy choice often wins.
- Eating badly can be contagious: No matter how strong your willpower is, social influence can really get to us. Whether you’re eating at home or out, the people you’re with can significantly affect your eating habits. If you’re not careful, you can easily fall into the trap of eating like everyone else around you.
- Instant gratification: Unhealthy foods provide immediate pleasure. Usually, convenient snacks are packed with lots of salt and sugar – exactly what we crave when we’re hungry. Since there’s no preparation needed and everything is packaged for quick eating, you’re constantly fighting that battle against instant satisfaction.
- It’s cheap: Finally, many unhealthy foods are relatively inexpensive. Whether you’re shopping the middle aisles of the grocery store or popping into a convenience store for a sugar fix, eating poorly often won’t cost you much.
The Solution
Don’t despair! There’s hope for your mission to eat better, even in a house full of temptations. All it takes is some awareness, careful planning, and a little creativity. But before anything else, you need to adopt a positive mindset – believing that you can build a solid plan and stick to it.
Let’s dive in:
- Prepare: Just like you wouldn’t go out in the rain without an umbrella, preparing your meals and snacks is crucial. When you prep your food, two things happen: first, you have something healthy and convenient ready to go; second, you feel a sense of obligation to eat what you’ve prepared. Always try to prepare your meals for the day ahead.
- Have your own section: If you live with others, you know that healthy food often gets mixed in with the unhealthy stuff. Designate a specific shelf in the pantry, fridge, or cupboard just for your healthy foods. Keep easy-to-prepare items grouped together for convenience. Make sure your family or roommates know about your special spot in the kitchen so they respect it.
- Talk to others: This goes hand-in-hand with having your own section. Don’t just tell people where your healthy stash is; explain your intentions. Communicate that you’re aiming for a healthier diet and ask them to respect your goal. Over time, others in your household might notice your new habits and start supporting you. They might even decide to join you!
- Get creative with meal prep: It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and eat the same things every day. But repeating meals too much can lead to boredom and make it harder to stick to your plan. Make sure to add variety to your meal prep. Maybe have a few different go-to meals and snacks to choose from, making both preparation and consistency easier.
- Avoid the scarcity mindset: One important, though sometimes frustrating, aspect of human behavior is our natural drive for survival. Our evolutionary instinct tells us to hoard food because we might not eat again for days. However, in our modern world, food is available everywhere, all the time. Remind yourself that you won’t starve, food isn’t scarce for most people, and you can take control.
Helpful Healthy Snacks
When you’re in a pinch and need something quick, convenient, and tasty to keep you from grabbing unhealthy options, these snacks can be a lifesaver:
- Nuts (any kind)
- Beef jerky
- Fruit (any kind)
- Granola
- Greek yogurt
- Whey or vegetable protein shake
- Natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread
Five More Helpful Tips
Here are five additional tips to keep in mind as you work on eating better:
- Eat slowly: Not only does eating slower allow you to enjoy your food more, but it also gives your brain enough time to signal that your stomach is receiving food and calories. These messages will eventually lead to feeling full and satisfied.
- Drink plenty of water: Here’s a simple trick that can instantly help you avoid overeating. Get into the habit of drinking a full glass of water before each meal. This will make your stomach feel fuller and help prevent you from eating too much. Over time, this becomes an easy habit, and you’ll be better hydrated too.
- Don’t starve yourself: If your goal is to lose weight, you might mistakenly think you need to starve yourself to see results. Don’t let yourself get to that point. If you’re constantly hungry, you’re much more likely to give up on your new eating habits. Always have your healthy go-to snacks and meals ready.
- Get back on track: Making mistakes is a normal part of the process – everyone "falls off the wagon" sometimes. There’s no need to completely overhaul your diet or wait until Monday to start over. If you slip up, simply pick up where you left off and keep going. The most important thing is to keep moving forward and stay as consistent as possible, without being too hard on yourself for a few stumbles.
- Stay aware: Your most powerful tool will be your ability to be aware. Pay attention to your surroundings (at a party, at home, with friends), be aware of the food in front of you (did you prepare for the day?), and acknowledge how far you’ve come on your journey. Keeping these thoughts in mind will help prevent you from mindlessly grabbing unhealthy food.
With a little awareness, planning, and creativity, you can develop a solid, realistic plan to eat well, even when surrounded by tempting foods. Before you know it, you’ll have built enough discipline to take on any challenge, no matter who you live with.