Quote:
Originally Posted by Saidin  I live a reasonably healthy life, except for the eating part. I'd really like to change that, but I don't know where to start. |
I felt the same way last year, although I didn't think that my eating was too unhealthy. I found that I was still eating as much as I did in high school, even though I am no longer playing soccer or having gym class everyday. I would eat ham and cheese sandwiches, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I would eat Triscuits or other crackers.
I didn't become vegetarian until very recently, but last year I decided to change my diet by adding more fruits and vegetables as well as cutting back on some of the extra food I ate. I was a proud member of the Clean Plate Club. If it was in front of me, I had to finish it. I eventually learned to say no when I was full. I also stopped packing that second sandwich for lunch.
So if you can start incorporating more unprocessed plants into your diet, even if you don't completely drop all the unhealthy things, it should be a "good start" to eating a healthier diet.
At my day job, a coworker has a bowl of candy. Each day, I would take a piece of candy. Maybe two or three pieces. I decided one day not to take the candy. I can have one tomorrow, but I can't have one today. And I did it. It was a nice sense of accomplishment, even if it didn't amount to much. The idea, however, was that I was in control. I told my temptation no, and I basically trained myself to say no to things that, in the end, I don't really want. I tried it for a few days, then a week. I've been without candy or donuts or pretty much any daily junk food for quite a few weeks now (a month? I lost track).
So in summary, you can easily cut back at least a little bit of the junk and add at least a little bit of the good. Supposedly people who like sweets will also like fruits, so switching out an apple for an apple flavored sucker is a great deal.
Just beware. If you told me last year that I would be eating a vegan diet, I would have thought you were crazy. I've read a lot about nutrition and health in that year, though. You start out making little changes. The next thing you know, you're being amazingly conscious of the things you eat and do. B-)