I have trained my mind to resist unhealthy food for many years. People often open their mouths wide in awe and ask how do I do that? Sometimes they subtly mock me by saying ‘Come on. We live only once. What’s the point of restricting your diet?’ Well, my answer is simple. Be mindful of what you consume as the effects can be felt in the long run. If we adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat healthy food, we feel good and look good. In turn, this will affect our mental health, in the sense that it feeling good is a self esteem booster. So one thing leads to another. Makes sense?
To pursue a healthy lifestyle, we must be consistent in our actions or habits. For this to come to fruition, we must train ourselves to be mentally strong. How to? You may ask. It takes a while and having tricks up your sleeve will help. I must say a huge chunk of it is psychological. So let’s get into this.
Tips to Train Your Mind to Resist Unhealthy Food
1. Go for General Check Up
First of all, I would recommend a general check up at your local clinic involving a blood and urine test. It is essential to know the following in order to check or maintain your diet: blood pressure levels, cholesterol level (LDL and HDL), glucose level, protein level, red and white blood cell count and urine PH level.
2. Decide on the Type of Diet You Should Adopt
Once you have got your clinical results, decide on the kind of diet you’d like to adopt. For example in my case, I veer towards the pescatarian diet whereby I forgo meat and consume just seafood including fish and vegetables and fruit due to high cholesterol levels when I first went for my general checkup many years ago. On the other hand, if you pre-diabetic for example, it is best to adopt the low carb and sugar diet and try including whole grain pasta or brown rice or quinoa in your diet.
3. Read, Read, Read to Resist Unhealthy Food
Equip yourself with the right literature for your health mission. Books on diet and healthy eating are abundant in the market or online. Having the appetite to devour books on health and healthy eating has helped me to psyche my brain into adopting healthy eating habits. This is one of the contributing factors that has helped me to resist unhealthy food. I would recommend the following books if you’d like to get started on picking the right literature to help you in your health journey:
a. Good Fat, Bad Fat by Romi Dolle
b. Smart Fat: Eat More Fat. Lose More Weight. Get Healthy Now by Steven Masley MD
c. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us: Michael Moss
d. The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Ban Buettner
e. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
f. Cholesterol Down: Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks–Without Prescription Drugs by Janet Brill
The above are a few of the many books on health and nutrition I have read that have helped me get attuned to mindful eating habits. I am more aware of food that is healthy and otherwise through reading. With that said, the information I’ve gathered have given me an adequate amount of knowledge to achieve my health goals.
4. Use Self-Talk to Focus on Your Goal
The trick to resist unhealthy food is to indulge in self-talk each time you get tempted to buy or eat fried, greasy food, pastries laden with layers of fat or sinfully rich cake or dessert. I know this can be hard. Most people succumb to unhealthy food simply based on its irresistible appearance. Their knees get weak and they salivate as they are visually tempted by such food. Once they take a bite, they will be taken in by the taste and then get addicted to unhealthy food. As a matter of fact, unhealthy food is generally tasty, right?
Imagine yourself looking at a heap of piping hot, golden brown, crunchy French fries and a juicy looking meat patty topped with a slice of melting cheese peeping out from between two freshly toasted sesame seed buns. What’s more? The food smells good too. I bet you’d make a dash for it if it’s served before your eyes.
Self Talk Technique
Here’s how I’d approach the situation through years of practice. I’d transfer my thoughts to long term gratification than short term rewards. Then, I’d ask myself ‘Do you want to see yourself suffering from chronic disease?’ ‘How would you feel after eating this?’ ‘What is your goal at present?’ ‘Will you get addicted to this?’ ‘If so, then what?’ ‘How are you going to get out of this?’ etc. Get my drift? Back away and focus on your mission.
If you keep on doing this and you succeed, you can make this technique your routine till it becomes second nature. In the long run, if this has become a successful habit, you no longer will be tempted to eat unhealthy food and are able to only have it as a rare treat. If unsuccessful in the first few instance, pen down your thoughts and feelings after eating to build up consciousness, see an unhealthy pattern and slowly practice mindful eating.
5. Plan and Prepare Your Meals
Lastly, sit down to plan your weekly menu and jot down the ingredients you need to prepare your meals. Preparing food at home is always healthier than buying take away as you have total control of what ingredients to use and add in the preparation process, including which oil to use if it involves stir frying. Always make it a point to include vegetables in your diet, along with protein and good fat such as avocado and nuts.
Through practice and habit it is easy to resist unhealthy food in the long run. You will tend to see greasy, saturated fat laden food as no longer appealing and you’ll notice your trash hold for sugary or salty food is reduced, like mine is.
Just remember that the mind is powerful. Gradually psyche your mind to resist unhealthy food and you’ll find fruit and vegetables including plant protein more appealing than rich, high fat food. Good luck in your journey to good health!