How to Take Charge of Your Unhealthy Eating Habits

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Daniel Wong | CATEGORIES: diet, health and fitness, self improvement

Do you struggle to eat healthy?

If you’re like most people, you probably give in to the temptation of ice cream, chips, cookies and fast food more often than you’d like.

After you give in to those temptations, you feel guilty. So you eat healthy for a few days—maybe a week, even. Then your self-control lets you down again and you finish a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting.

The cycle repeats itself. I’m guessing that you can relate at least partially to this?

For me, my weakness is dessert. I could eat dessert at every meal, every day. Chocolates, cakes, puddings, brownies—you name the dessert and I’ll eat it.

I’ve since won my epic battle with desserts, so I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned.

The Root Cause

The root cause of our lack of discipline when it comes to food is this: We associate food with our emotional state.

Feeling happy? It’s time for delicious food. Feeling sad? It’s time for even more delicious food.

Whether it’s time to celebrate or time to grieve, we find a reason to eat. If you want to take complete control over your eating habits, you need to create some distance between your diet and your emotions.

Once you do this, eating right will no longer pose such a daunting challenge to you.

I’ve discovered the three key decisions you have to make if you want to establish this emotional separation:

1. Decide to be normal, not average.

It’s average to eat a lot of junk food, to be overweight, and to be at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

But is that normal? No!

It’s normal to eat right, to be lean, and not to have any chronic health problems.

All of us want to be normal. We just need to raise our standards of what we consider normal. Don’t let the people around you tell you what “normal” is.

“Average” is relative. “Normal” isn’t. Don’t confuse what is average with what is normal. That’s the first step to overcoming your unhealthy eating habits.

2. Decide that your diet is a mini-representation of your life.

Whenever you put food into your mouth, you’re either getting stronger and healthier, or weaker and flabbier. There’s very little middle ground.

Eat broccoli and chicken breast, and you’re becoming stronger. Eat pizza and Doritos, and you’re becoming weaker.

In a similar way, whenever you choose to spend your time in a certain way, you’re either growing as an individual or you’re regressing.

When you attend an educational seminar, you’re learning and growing. But when you spend an entire afternoon reading a trashy magazine, you’re regressing.

Once you start seeing the food you eat as a mini-representation of your life, your dietary habits take on new meaning and significance. Food isn’t just food anymore. It’s a tool you can use to grow as a person.

When you eat healthy, you’re choosing to become more disciplined and focused. You’re choosing to become a person of greater character.

Start thinking about food this way and I guarantee that you’ll find it easier to eat right.

3. Decide that you want health more than you want pleasure.

If you want to change your behavior, it boils down to desire. Which do you desire more: the long-term health benefits of eating right, or the temporary pleasure of eating junk food?

It’s more effective to focus on increasing your desire for health, rather than on decreasing your desire for pleasure.

To make eating healthy more appealing, I invite you to answer the following questions:

Do you want to have a good quality of life, especially in old age?
Do you want to feel more energetic?
Do you want to lose body fat?
Do you want to fall sick less often?
Do you want to avoid suffering from chronic health problems?

I’m sure you answered “yes” to all of those questions.

We’re driven by our desires. Cultivate a burning desire to be healthy, and you won’t have a problem saying “no” to unhealthy food.

–

I didn’t write this post for your information. I wrote it for your action.

Will you make these three simple decisions today and take charge of your unhealthy eating habits?

Daniel Wong is passionate about helping young adults to maximize their education, career and life. He is the author of The Happy Student, which will be published by Morgan James Publishing by early 2012. You can read his blog at Living Large and find him on Twitter.

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LAR

I usually like this website but this article is rubbish. Are you promoting for a weight loss company? Dieting, which, don’t kid yourself, that’s what you’re promoting here, is not in any way helpful to actual health. In fact studies show the biggest indicator of weight GAIN is a diet within the last six months.

Food is just food. There is no good food or bad food except for what you believe and seriously, tying foods, any sort of foods, as acceptable or unacceptable is unhelpful. Further, suggesting that thinking ”do you want to loose body fat?” isn’t helpful. Why don’t you just come straight out and say “nothing tastes as good as thin feels”.

It’s insensitive, badly researched rubbish.
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Hey LAR,
  
  Thanks for your comment. I can tell that you feel very strongly about this issue.
  
  I completely agree that dieting is not the way to lose fat and become healthier… I guess it didn’t come across clearly enough in my article, but I’m really trying to promote a lifestyle of eating healthy. I’m not trying to promote dieting (crash dieting, in particular), because it simply isn’t effective!
  
  You can definitely eat some unhealthy food but still maintain a healthy nutrition plan. This post is about cultivating a habit of eating right.
- guest
  
  i think you completely missed the point
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=750750210 Chris Bracher
  
  LAR, I hope for your sake that you never find yourself in the situation I faced in April of this year. On April 26th my doctor told me that if I wanted a reasonable chance of reaching my 50th birthday (I’m 42) that I needed to make drastic and immediate changes to my diet.
  Genetic testing has advanced enough that its fairly easy for a qualified doctor to see what things a person should watch out for in their diet and lifestyle. My genetic dispositions had finally caught up with me. No longer was “youth” on my side although I’m relatively young. I was told that I was in the early stages of diabetes and had 2 pockets of plaque on my coronary artery among a host of other health issues.
  I’m 42!!! And I have the blood test results of someone in their 70′s!
  What made this really scare me $%^&less was the fact that 6 months earlier I had started working out 3 days a week with a trainer. In that time I had lost a little weight and put on some muscle, but my numbers were still abysmal and I had no idea. I can only imagine how bad my blood test results would have been PRIOR to the start of my workouts.
  So starting immediately on April 26th, 2011, I went on a seriously restrictive diet. It seemed like every food I had ever really enjoyed was now my enemy. Quarterly blood test monitor my progress and my fitness trainer and doctor stay in ongoing communication to guide and track my progress. Interestingly, I started losing weight almost immediately because of the fasting I did. This was not because it was part of my diet, I was AFRAID to eat for fear of worsening my condition. But I eventually got a handle on what was OK to eat, when, and in what quantities.
  So now (November 2011) roughly 6 months later I’m making progress, but its slow. I’m trying to undo at least a decade’s worth of a lousy diet. I’ve metabolized a lot of the “bad fat” in my body, but as a consequence that triggers its own set of problems. My cortisone levels are perpetually on the upper end of the scale meaning that the body thinks its in a nearly constant state of stress and to some extent that’s true. I have another 6 months to a year at minimum before my blood tests approach what they should be for a healthy 42 year old.
  So are there “good” and “bad” foods, you can bet your life on it that there are.
  Daniel, thank you for your posting, even if it encourages comments like the one from LARS.
  - http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
    
    Thanks so much for your honest sharing, Chris. I’m excited that you’ve embarked on such a courageous journey of transformation in your health. All the best!
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=750750210 Chris Bracher
  
  LAR, I hope for your sake that you never find yourself in the situation I faced in April of this year. On April 26th my doctor told me that if I wanted a reasonable chance of reaching my 50th birthday (I’m 42) that I needed to make drastic and immediate changes to my diet.
  Genetic testing has advanced enough that its fairly easy for a qualified doctor to see what things a person should watch out for in their diet and lifestyle. My genetic dispositions had finally caught up with me. No longer was “youth” on my side although I’m relatively young. I was told that I was in the early stages of diabetes and had 2 pockets of plaque on my coronary artery among a host of other health issues.
  I’m 42!!! And I have the blood test results of someone in their 70′s!
  What made this really scare me $%^&less was the fact that 6 months earlier I had started working out 3 days a week with a trainer. In that time I had lost a little weight and put on some muscle, but my numbers were still abysmal and I had no idea. I can only imagine how bad my blood test results would have been PRIOR to the start of my workouts.
  So starting immediately on April 26th, 2011, I went on a seriously restrictive diet. It seemed like every food I had ever really enjoyed was now my enemy. Quarterly blood test monitor my progress and my fitness trainer and doctor stay in ongoing communication to guide and track my progress. Interestingly, I started losing weight almost immediately because of the fasting I did. This was not because it was part of my diet, I was AFRAID to eat for fear of worsening my condition. But I eventually got a handle on what was OK to eat, when, and in what quantities.
  So now (November 2011) roughly 6 months later I’m making progress, but its slow. I’m trying to undo at least a decade’s worth of a lousy diet. I’ve metabolized a lot of the “bad fat” in my body, but as a consequence that triggers its own set of problems. My cortisone levels are perpetually on the upper end of the scale meaning that the body thinks its in a nearly constant state of stress and to some extent that’s true. I have another 6 months to a year at minimum before my blood tests approach what they should be for a healthy 42 year old.
  So are there “good” and “bad” foods, you can bet your life on it that there are.
  Daniel, thank you for your posting, even if it encourages comments like the one from LARS.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=750750210 Chris Bracher
  
  LAR, I hope for your sake that you never find yourself in the situation I faced in April of this year. On April 26th my doctor told me that if I wanted a reasonable chance of reaching my 50th birthday (I’m 42) that I needed to make drastic and immediate changes to my diet.
  Genetic testing has advanced enough that its fairly easy for a qualified doctor to see what things a person should watch out for in their diet and lifestyle. My genetic dispositions had finally caught up with me. No longer was “youth” on my side although I’m relatively young. I was told that I was in the early stages of diabetes and had 2 pockets of plaque on my coronary artery among a host of other health issues.
  I’m 42!!! And I have the blood test results of someone in their 70′s!
  What made this really scare me $%^&less was the fact that 6 months earlier I had started working out 3 days a week with a trainer. In that time I had lost a little weight and put on some muscle, but my numbers were still abysmal and I had no idea. I can only imagine how bad my blood test results would have been PRIOR to the start of my workouts.
  So starting immediately on April 26th, 2011, I went on a seriously restrictive diet. It seemed like every food I had ever really enjoyed was now my enemy. Quarterly blood test monitor my progress and my fitness trainer and doctor stay in ongoing communication to guide and track my progress. Interestingly, I started losing weight almost immediately because of the fasting I did. This was not because it was part of my diet, I was AFRAID to eat for fear of worsening my condition. But I eventually got a handle on what was OK to eat, when, and in what quantities.
  So now (November 2011) roughly 6 months later I’m making progress, but its slow. I’m trying to undo at least a decade’s worth of a lousy diet. I’ve metabolized a lot of the “bad fat” in my body, but as a consequence that triggers its own set of problems. My cortisone levels are perpetually on the upper end of the scale meaning that the body thinks its in a nearly constant state of stress and to some extent that’s true. I have another 6 months to a year at minimum before my blood tests approach what they should be for a healthy 42 year old.
  So are there “good” and “bad” foods, you can bet your life on it that there are.
  Daniel, thank you for your posting, even if it encourages comments like the one from LARS.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=750750210 Chris Bracher
  
  LAR, I hope for your sake that you never find yourself in the situation I faced in April of this year. On April 26th my doctor told me that if I wanted a reasonable chance of reaching my 50th birthday (I’m 42) that I needed to make drastic and immediate changes to my diet.
  Genetic testing has advanced enough that its fairly easy for a qualified doctor to see what things a person should watch out for in their diet and lifestyle. My genetic dispositions had finally caught up with me. No longer was “youth” on my side although I’m relatively young. I was told that I was in the early stages of diabetes and had 2 pockets of plaque on my coronary artery among a host of other health issues.
  I’m 42!!! And I have the blood test results of someone in their 70′s!
  What made this really scare me $%^&less was the fact that 6 months earlier I had started working out 3 days a week with a trainer. In that time I had lost a little weight and put on some muscle, but my numbers were still abysmal and I had no idea. I can only imagine how bad my blood test results would have been PRIOR to the start of my workouts.
  So starting immediately on April 26th, 2011, I went on a seriously restrictive diet. It seemed like every food I had ever really enjoyed was now my enemy. Quarterly blood test monitor my progress and my fitness trainer and doctor stay in ongoing communication to guide and track my progress. Interestingly, I started losing weight almost immediately because of the fasting I did. This was not because it was part of my diet, I was AFRAID to eat for fear of worsening my condition. But I eventually got a handle on what was OK to eat, when, and in what quantities.
  So now (November 2011) roughly 6 months later I’m making progress, but its slow. I’m trying to undo at least a decade’s worth of a lousy diet. I’ve metabolized a lot of the “bad fat” in my body, but as a consequence that triggers its own set of problems. My cortisone levels are perpetually on the upper end of the scale meaning that the body thinks its in a nearly constant state of stress and to some extent that’s true. I have another 6 months to a year at minimum before my blood tests approach what they should be for a healthy 42 year old.
  So are there “good” and “bad” foods, you can bet your life on it that there are.
  Daniel, thank you for your posting, even if it encourages comments like the one from LARS.
Dajolt

@LAR:twitter
- you are kidding yourself, of course dieting can improve your health and if you are gaining weight *after* a diet you just prove that you have not unstood the way a diet works.

There is no *after* a diet. Ever.

Once you start prioritising your health and general well being over short term food consumption you have to constantly remind yourself not to eat to much. Once you reached your weight goal, you get to eat more, but never let lose.

This is very hard in a society where there is too much food available and where there is a lot of advertising trying you to buy as much food as possible. There is more food out there than is good for you and you need to find a way to cope with that. Turning barrel sized is one option, but there are alternatives, like learning to cook, exercising and stopping to watch tv channels that show food advertisments.

And diet and enjoying great taste go one on one. You just have to make sure that you enjoy the right amount! This is where your priorities come in handy.

This said I still consider most of this article to be rubbish. The advice in #2 and #3 isn’t really helpful. Instead I invite you to closely listen to your body and feelings while you eat unhealthy food.

- Does the taste really make me happy?
- Do I feel guilty?
- Do I feel good, after eating the food?
- If not, why do I continue eating it?

As an example, I need to eat a burger meal at McDonalds every few months to remind me of the fact that it actually doesn’t taste that good. In my mind I have all the happiness from childhood and the TV-ads, but the feeling in my stomach after eating 2 BigMacs, fries and an large softdrink isn’t that good. Same goes for the feeling after eating too much pizza.
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  I appreciate your comment, Dajolt. You’re right– McDonald’s really doesn’t taste as good as we often imagine! Although I’d say it still tastes pretty good. But the after-effects– both short- and long-term– are terrible.
  
  I’d say that this article takes a different approach from a lot of other how-to articles… The point I was trying to make is that if you want to create a sustainable change in your behavior, you need to first change your thoughts/attitude/philosophy.
  
  If you try to change your actions (in this case, with respect to your eating habits) without changing your mindset, you probably won’t be able to see it through.
  
  Tips #1, #2 and #3 worked for me, so this post is an invitation to try these approaches out for yourself.
  
  And I have to say that I really like your sense of conviction– you write with a lot of passion!
http://hanofharmony.com The Vizier

Hi Daniel,

You make some great points on eating healthy.

I never really had a problem with eating healthy. In fact, food has never been a top priority for me.

Sure I used to indulge like many people. But one day I decided to put a stop to that. One of the best actions I took was to get rid of all temptations around me. Although I like to eat chocolate and ice-cream, I refused to buy any and if I had a craving, there was no chocolate and ice-cream nearby for me to reach out to eat.

Even so, there may be times when I need a snack. So instead of ice-cream, I replaced it with yogurt. In fact, I chose vanilla for the plainness of its flavour. Nowadays, I rarely eat yogurt, but I have some in the fridge just in case. I also have no soft drinks of any kind in my home. My only options are water and green tea.

I feel that the best way to eat healthy is to remove all forms of temptations. This has certainly gone a long way in helping me to do so.

Thank you for sharing this lovely article!

Irving the Vizier
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Fleeing from temptation is a great way to eat healthy! I’ve found that it makes a huge difference if you place junk food 10 feet away from where you do most of your work, etc. compared to if it’s 2 feet away. Those extra 8 feet might not seem like much, but they really do make you much less likely to eat the junk food.
http://writingbee.com/employment_for_writers academic writing jobs online

emotion is the way to such foods (((unfortunately sometimes it is difficult to restrain myself. eat potato chips), but rarely!
http://www.colon-liver-cleanse.com/ Sean

Eating healthy and completely removing as much junk food from my diet as possible has been one of the best decisions of my life. What’s cool is that after awhile the healthy foods are more pleasurable than the junk foods!
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  I’m glad to hear that you’ve removed most junk food from your diet! You’re clearly setting a good example– I checked out your website and it’s about healthy liver and colon function. Eating healthy is sure to help with that.
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  I’m glad to hear that you’ve removed most junk food from your diet! You’re clearly setting a good example– I checked out your website and it’s about healthy liver and colon function. Eating healthy is sure to help with that.
http://www.clintcora.com Clint Cora

The article is a good reminder for us to eat healthy so I have no problems with it. In fact, I like the questions asked in tip #3. I can live with #2 as well. For #1, I would probably reword it as I personally don’t want to be either normal or average. I strive to be better than either of these terms.

For me, my main influence came initially from the great Bruce Lee, followed by 20 years of martial arts competition. I wasn’t going to compete well if I didn’t follow a healthy diet that was low in fat as well as high in energy. I’ve maintained that type of diet so to speak ever since and at age 50, I still benefit from my choice of foods.

The healthy foods versus tasty pleasure use to be the case but I think with creative cooking and suitable ingredients, healthy can now be tasty as well. In fact, I personally find fatty foods to be rather unpleasurable in taste.

So apart from a different choice of words, I don’t see any big issues with this article. Again, it’s another great reminder to stay with healthy habits.

I do have a problem with comments that are rather insensitive. It’s okay to disagree with the authors of these articles but there’s no need to be nasty. After all, those who complain are free to write articles as well.
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Thanks, Clint! You make a good point about not wanting to be average or normal. It’s inspiring that you think that way. I checked out your website and your unique approach toward personal development, etc. — you’re clearly living a life that’s exceptional!
  
  And obviously you understand what it’s like to put yourself out there when you write articles/guest posts, too! So I appreciate the last paragraph you wrote.
  - http://www.clintcora.com Clint Cora
    
    Not a problem Daniel. Yes, I’ve had the odd comment like that too!
  - http://www.clintcora.com Clint Cora
    
    Not a problem Daniel. Yes, I’ve had the odd comment like that too!
guest

I loved this post! I never thought about how when I’m happy I think of eating good food and when I’m sad I think of eating even better (better as in more unhealthy)… and thinking of eating to get stronger is a REALLY good tip too! Thanks!
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Wow thank you for that super enthusiastic response! I’m glad that you found this post helpful.
http://www.successatreach.com Nabil Gulamani

Hi Daniel,

great article….Many people get into strict dieting but then give up because they force themselves to eat healthy…. Eating healthy should be fun and part of an everyday routine..Once you can do that you can sustain a healthy and fit body over the long run..

Thanks for sharing..

Nabil
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Thanks for the comment, Nabil! I agree with you that eating healthy shouldn’t be part of your “diet”– it should be part of your lifestyle. That’s easier said than done, but it’s the only way for the change to be sustainable.
  
  And I checked out your website– you’re on to something good!
  
  Daniel
VEGASSNS420

i will attest to this, I LEARNED TO EAT TO LIVE NOT LIVE TO EAT AND, viola, i am in shape, at an appropriate weight for my height, and healthier than my doctor has seen me in almost 20 years. I am happier than I have ever been. I excersice becasue I finally have the energy to do so. I dont put processed fatty foods in my mouth more than once a month. (thats my splurge day) but they really dont taste as GOOD as I used to think they did. AMAZING what determination and knowledge will do for you… NO MORE FAD DIETS, NO MORE COUNTING CALORIES, NO MORE GUILTY FEELINGS ABOUT MY FOOD CHOICES, AWWWW FREEDOM!!
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  I can really sense your passion and conviction. You’ve clearly been very victorious in the area of healthy living! Good job. I hope that you’ll spread your enthusiasm and encouragement to people who are struggling with their physical health!
Pingback: How to Stop Caring About What Other People Think Without Being a Self-Righteous Jerk | Living Large
Anonymous

Love the article eating healthy should be fun and part of an everyday routine unfortunately something many of us struggle with. I particularly like your message in “ Decide that your diet is a mini-representation of your life”. A great message and shows how what we intake is a reflection of us.

Check out my mini blog.
http://rebootrefresh.tumblr.com/
- http://twitter.com/daniel_wong_ Daniel Wong
  
  Thanks a lot for your comment! It really takes a conscious effort to remind yourself that food isn’t just food; your diet really is a mini-representation of your life. I appreciate your kind words!
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