Immediate action and perseverance
The slower you are to react to the warnings, the less chances you have of success. Keep in mind that it takes the brain an average of two months to form a new habit, which is why it is important to start dealing with the problem immediately and stick to the principles you set for yourself with determination.
Healthy food is delicious
The main problem people encounter when considering switching to a healthy diet is their conviction that they will have to eat all kinds of bland, tasteless grub. There are two reasons why this is not the case. Reason one: there are thousands of foods that are based on healthy ingredients. Sure, you can find some truly disgusting recipes among them but a significant part is still aimed at satisfying the taste buds. In other words, people often don’t realize that healthy food can be as if not more delicious then the stuff they’re used to eating. The second reason is that some unhealthy foods can actually affect our pallets in a way that makes healthy foods less appealing. However, this is only the case as long as you keep eating the former. In other words, the moment you remove the intense flavors of toxic food from your diet, your brain will quickly recalibrate to appreciate and take pleasure in the flavors of healthy food, which until recently seemed average at best.
Going hungry is not part of healthy eating
Another equally common misconception is the association of diet with hunger. It is this fear that convinces us to postpone the start of a new diet to the first day of the next month, or better yet to the New Year. This is an instinctive fear. We are not supposed to starve, and starving ourselves deliberately is completely unnatural! That is why all hunger diets are sooner or later doomed to failure unless the person has superhuman willpower and motivation. Of course, this does not mean that you can overeat more than ever. You just need to understand that severe hunger means you are not eating right. The slightest moment of weakness will send you reeling off the dietary tracks and running to grab your favorite cookies (along with a sizeable helping of self-hatred).
Healthy food is affordable
Of course, it’s possible to compose your daily menu based on the most expensive and delicious healthy products. For many of us, this would be a heavy burden on the wallet, which means that after a while we’ll be tempted or even forced to return to more affordable and unhealthy eating habits. However, there is plenty of healthy food that is several times cheaper than fast food. It is enough to compare the price of a burger and a packet of oatmeal, which will increase many times in size when cooked. Healthy food can in fact be both very cheap (cereals, vegetables) and very expensive (lobster, bluefin tuna). If you can find a middle ground by preparing dishes from a combination of cheap and expensive products, your final expenses will be pretty much the same as they are now. And if you do find yourself spending a little more, remember: this investment will end up saving so much more in terms of healthcare costs, not to mention improving the quality and duration of your life.
Regular meals
Healthy eating is not only about the food itself but also about when and how many times a day it is consumed. It is important not only to avoid eating late at night but also to make sure not to skip breakfast. Paradoxically, skipping the morning meal does not lead to weight loss. On the contrary, it increases the chances of obesity by almost 50%. Most likely, this is caused by a hormonal disruption, wherein the body receives a signal of nutritional deficiency and therefore proceeds to store up energy, just in case. In addition, hunger not only increases the chances of abandoning your diet but also forces you to choose less healthy foods. Therefore, you need to eat regularly throughout the day, consuming the same amount of calories in reduced portions, 3-6 times a day. The more regular the distribution of meals throughout the day, the better.
Choosing your diet
As humans, all we require is a balanced intake of diverse foods. However, the diet fad pushes us towards settling on a specific diet. According to many studies, among all the currently popular diets, the Mediterranean diet seems to be the most balanced. It promotes active consumption of whole grains, nuts, fruits, beans, fresh vegetables, olive oil, greens; moderate consumption of flour products, fish, and dairy products; and restricted consumption of eggs and meat. Of course, a vegetarian diet that involves getting nutrients from plant-based foods can also be considered healthy. However, in order to be balanced, it has to include at least a small amount of animal protein, especially from seafood.
What can’t you eat?
Anything edible is ok to eat, the only question is balance and quality. It is highly unlikely that the apocalypse will occur if you indulge in a few handfuls of chips or a slice of cake once a week – for example, on Fridays or Sundays. Moreover, such emotional relief can be useful, provided you don’t go overboard. All that matters is the proportion of healthy and unhealthy foods in your diet as a whole, no more no less. Salt is a good example to illustrate this principle. Contrary to popular belief, salt is an essential ingredient of a healthy diet. Not enough salt increases the possibility of early death substantially, and the same is true when salt is consumed in excess, so it’s worth observing an intake in the region of 4–5g per day (taking into account its content in prepared foods and/or ingredients). This applies to any food. Only really dangerous substances should be completely avoided, which is why you should always carefully read the information on the packaging, and avoid buying ultra-processed and suspicious products with unnatural ingredients (preservatives, flavor enhancers, etc.).
The secret to resisting temptation
The best recipe for getting rid of junk food is simply not to buy it at the store and thus avoid having it in your home. In the kitchen, healthy products should be placed in the most prominent place. By freeing yourself from temptation, you will be replacing hunger with healthier foods, which you should have in abundance. But how do we stop ourselves from buying this poison so cleverly and effectively displayed on the supermarket shelves? It’s enough to go shopping right after a hearty lunch – then you can fill your cart using your head, rather than your gut. In addition, it is worthwhile to carefully and thoughtfully prepare a varied and balanced meal plan a week or even a month in advance. When you know what you’re going to eat today, you are less likely to even think about junk food. If the menu is not predetermined in advance, you might get all sorts of ideas, especially on an empty stomach.
Healthy eating is a lifestyle
It is important to understand that eating a balanced diet should be part of your life. Many consider diets to be tools for solving certain problems and therefore motivate themselves to accept temporary torments with the promise of future rewards. But isn’t it better to choose a diet that you enjoy and continue to enjoy it for the rest of your life? This approach provides a long-term solution to a whole range of health problems and relieves you of the distress and setbacks that are common in crash diets.
Cultivate a like-minded environment
You’ll find it hard to stick to a balanced diet if your environment does not support your lifestyle, especially when it comes to your loved ones. Temptation will be difficult to avoid if it is constantly present in your fridge or consumed at your dinner table. If the whole family understands the risks of unhealthy eating, it’ll make things much easier for you. Therefore, you need to not only look for like-minded people who will support your choices and give you advice but also gently promote healthy eating habits among your loved ones. The easiest way to convince them is to show them that a healthy diet can be really tasty and satisfying because beliefs to the contrary are what deters people the most from changing the way they eat.
Additional advice
It is also important to prepare smaller portions, use small cutlery and chew food thoroughly (within the bounds of reason of course). Eating a smaller portion over the same amount of time as a larger portion will have you feeling pretty much just as full. This tactic gradually makes your stomach shrink, which helps protect you from overeating and boosts the overall effectiveness of the diet.
A comprehensive approach
The processes in our bodies are all interconnected and a balanced lifestyle is the key to solving any problem. There is a possibility that the crux of this particular problem lies in another area of your life altogether. It is these questions that the M99 standard resolves, and why it is so important to strive to achieve optimal results for all of its parameters.