Column #47

Over 2,300 years ago Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

People form habits to save energy required for reasoned behavior. But that lack of cognitive effort can have consequences, especially if circumstance or knowledge changes. That’s why it’s important to evaluate habits and tweak them if needed for a positive long-term outcome.

Few habits in life are more ingrained than eating. Food selections, quantity, timing, meals, snacks, flavors, crunch, colors, cost, social settings, and even where we sit at the table fit a pattern. The eating ritual brings comfort while even small changes bring discomfort. Like all habits, eating ranges from constructive to destructive.

Most Americans live to eat; only a few eat to live. Unfortunately, most folks in the later group follow fads and haughty preferences for politically correct foods which are often nutritionally deficient but with fancy labels. They are fooling themselves. A few people in the “eat-to-live” group understand food chemistry and eat foods that optimize health and well-being.

People who are experiencing chronic diseases (overweight, diabetes, joint pain, intestinal issues, heart issues, high blood pressure, asthma, cancer, mental disorders, etc.) habitually eat deficient diets. How can they reform their eating habits?

It begins with internal motivation, not punishment or reward. Change requires a “want to” determination to achieve specific goals by visualizing what success looks like. Eating habits, triggers, and obstacles need to be identified with a concentration on stopping old responses to negative triggers. Replacing bad habits with new ones requires thoughtful repetition until the desired activity becomes automatic.

Naturally, developing good habits means one must know what to do. Nutrition requires an understanding of basic food chemistry as explained in The Real Diet of Man. After determining which foods best support healthy goals, restocking the pantry with only the better foods is a great starting point.

Your goal may be to lose 50 pounds, heal a chronic disease, lower your Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio down to 1:1, etc. Break down the big goal into smaller, “digestible” goals and monitor your food intake and bodily responses weekly.

Visualize a new, healthy identity rather than just a goal. Some habits may need only modest changes while others need to be replaced with constructive habits and cues.

Preselect healthy foods to satisfy traditional food triggers. Remember that sometimes new foods require repetition for the palate to appreciate their flavors and textures.

If a “what the heck” point is reached, analyze the old habit for its lure that reopened the door to failure. A small change in a response to a stimuli may get around give up points in the future. Don’t expect perfection, but realize that accepting defeat is a slippery slope. Resolve not to slip twice in a row. Ask family and friends for moral support.

Changing a habit begins with greater cognitive awareness. New responses to stimuli become habits with repetition. Monitor your efforts and keep repeating the new habit.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

Good Intentions, Bad Habits, and Effects of Forming Implementation Intentions on Healthy Eating

Breaking ‘Bad Habits’: a Dynamical Perspective on Habit Formation and Change

Can’t Control Yourself? Monitor Those Bad Habits