How to Force Yourself to Eat Healthy
To have healthy eating habits is a goal that many of us try to work towards, but eventually fail at. For a couch potato, this is probably the toughest goal to accomplish. Here are a few pointers to convince your mind to eat healthy, and to force yourself to do so.
Throw Away Everything Unhealthy
If you have any sort of addicting unhealthy foods tucked away in your house, you will always have the urge to eat them in the back of your head. Get rid of the cause of this urge and get rid of all of the unhealthy foods in your house. You can either give them away to a friend or simply chuck ’em. If you don’t have access to unhealthy foods, you will be unable to destroy your health.
Stock Up on Healthy Snacks
Replace your junk food with some healthy snacks. If you do get a craving for food, then you have something to eat and you won’t gain 10 pounds just from eating it. There are many healthy snacks out there that taste great and could easily replace junk foods. Here are some examples:
Track and Count Your Calories
When you know how many calories you’ve consumed, then it will be much easier to see what you need to cut back on. Always look for the nutrition facts on a food label to see what exactly you are taking in. For a runner, lots of carbs, a bit less protein, and very little fat should be a good caloric content. Here are some personal online calorie counters that you can use as a log:
Use Running as an Excuse
This is one of the benefits of running, that it will give you an excuse to eat healthier. How does it do this? If you have a very unhealthy diet, then you will feel utterly terrible when out on your run. With a healthy diet, however, your running experience will not be nearly as painful. If you want to be a successful runner, you also must be a successful healthy eater.
Get Everyone in Your Household to Eat Healthy
If you are surrounded by healthy eaters, then you yourself will find a much easier time eating healthy. Try announcing to whoever you live with that you want to cut down on all of the junk food. Depending on what kind of people you live with, you may or may not be able to accomplish this task. But, know that if you are successful in getting your family or roommates or whoever to eat healthy with you, then your experience will be much easier.
Stay Away From Restaurants
Restaurants may have some of the most delicious foods, but they also have some of the most unhealthy foods. Just because they aren’t from fast food chains doesn’t mean that these foods aren’t healthy. Save money and your health by eating all your meals at home!