This is a great post — in response to a great question. Your answer reinforces something I’ve slowly been learning to do: regularly buying healthy things I love, and not stocking healthy foods I don’t love, nor less-healthy treats I do love. It’s actually quite simple, but perhaps not a habit we all form naturally.

I am finding that if I concentrate on eating all the good things I want to put into my body each day, there’s very little room for the treats I thought I wanted so badly before. I used to eat pastries and muffins and so on all the time, but more and more often lately I simply don’t have the appetite for them, even if they look tasty.

I still have quite a long way to go, but the re-discovery of healthy foods that I didn’t used to eat has made it much easier for me to eat better over the last month or so. Suddenly, I realize I actually do quite like brown rice. Who knew? Only having whole wheat flour (instead of regular all-purpose white) in my flat means I MUST cook and bake with whole wheat. Always having yogurt and fruit means I make a much better snacking or dessert choice 9 times out of 10 (“fruit/yogurt first, sweet treat after” often leaves no room for the sweet treat).

Anyhow, thank you, Kathryn, for the excellent (and timely!) post.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments – made me think about how I try to eat healthy food and also about the barriers. One of my barriers is having a partner who loves buying chocolate and chips, and another is my love of baking! (unfortunately I can’t blame it all on E). But like you I love fruit and vegetables and try to work with that, despite grabbing the odd crisp from his bowl of crisps. It helps to have really good dark chocolate in the house and eat just a little rather than a lot of chocolate bars. But one thing that struck me when I lost weight a few years back was that as a vegetarian I am used to a lot of self discipline in what foods I eat (which thankfully means that Maccas and KFC are never ever a temptation for me) so I should be able to extend that to junk food too. It sometimes helps but not always. Also, I think I eat much better when I am cooking than when I eat out, which is probably why I am not keen on too much eating out. But overall, it is knowing what food makes me feel good!

It’s really interesting to read how you eat, so to speak. So sensible to eat only the things you enjoy I think lots of people fall off the wagon because they try and force themselves to eat things that they hate.
My policy for chocolate is that I only have proper chocolate, expensive but good and more taste less sugar, so I tend to eat less. On regular days I have a treat of chocolate, or similar mid afternoon, deprivation is more likely to make me lust after it! Two days a week I have no dairy or refined sugars full stop, which since I’ve got into the routine of doing my body seems to benefit from.
I also keep a food diary, which is more to make sure I eat regularly.
I make exceptions though, so my feeling utterly vile from this Sunday thru Tuesday I let myself indulge.
Remembering how awful I felt surviving on processed cheese through my pregnancy (only thing I didn’t return instantly) is also a good way to stay on track!

What an excellent post, Kathryn! I have, over the years consciously worked on replacing not-so-good or could-be-improved habits with healthier ones. I find that having a plan of action is key in order to follow through on my good intentions to eat healthier and to maintain the new habits. Your examples are similar to what I do and I would add that planning my dinners is another one of the ways I help myself to eat well. It also acts as a food journal of sorts and I’m able to evaluate what I’m eating and find areas I would like to improve upon. Like Milly, I also keep a full-day food diary, though I now only do it for a full week once a month rather than everyday. It’s funny though, as soon as I start journaling, I find myself even more conscious of what I’m eating and make even better choices, as though I don’t want to have to mar my journal with anything “bad”. That works for me, however, as awareness is important and the journal acts a bit like a monthly booster shot to help me continue making healthier choices. There are always improvements and changes I could make to my diet (and lifestyle in general), and I will continually work on them. I tend to take things in small steps too, and that seems to work well for me in having the changes stick. Thanks for the constant inspiration and useful information you provide us with!

I’m with you – shopping for the good stuff is key! If my kitchen is full of delicious fruit and veg, that’s what I’ll eat.

i pretty much do similar things to you Kathryn: buy lots of good, fresh stuff that i DO like to eat, not buy junky things (although we usually have some dark chocolate in the house).

i agree with the other commenters that planning out meals helps, because then you aren’t floundering for ideas and ending up eating not-so-good things for dinner.

the things i probably slip up with the most are forgetting to differentiate between everyday and occasional foods – if we have chocolate in the house, i sometimes will eat it everyday until it’s gone!
and also point number 3… i try to balance out my foods but i have no idea whether i’m really getting enough protein for example.

The thought of how awful I feel when I eat lots of bad food (full of added sugar, saturated fat, additives etc.) is enough to help me stay away from it about 90% of the time.
I also have PCOS, which I often forget I do have until I eat badly for and extended period of time and am reminded of it by the re-appearance/worsening of its symptoms.
On top of this I make sure I eat every 3 hours to make sure I don’t get so hungry that I’ll eat anything. Also, like everyone else, I don’t buy chocolate, icecream, lollies etc. if I want it I go out an buy it :) And I’m a vegetarian with a sensitive stomach, which also probably helps in the healthy eating department!

What a great post. Thanks for the useful suggestions. I, too, love all the healthy foods, but unfortunately seem to be drawn just as much (if not more) to the chocolate, cake, etc. We have virtually no junk food in our house, but as a baker, I always have something home-baked. Even though the stuff is vegan, made with spelt, unrefined sugar, etc., eating too much can still be a problem. I like the idea of considering treats as only “occasional”—I have no problem doing so with alcohol, so hope I can do the same with treats.

Thanks all for your comments, it’s really interesting to read what strategies work for you all. Cassie and Milly – diet diaries are something I frequently use with clients. It lets me know what they’re eating, but also increases their awareness of patterns and problems. It’s a good way of keeping on the straight and narrow – and reminding yourself to eat well.

I don’t plan my meals, but I know it works really well for most people. I don’t like to know in advance what I’m eating! And I quite enjoy looking in the cupboard and fridge and working out what to cook, from what’s available. But again, we have to have good food in the house for this slightly more haphazard strategy to work.

Alis: regular eating, YES. Very important. It’s when I let myself get too hungry that the planning goes out the window. Then I’m reaching for whatever’s easy and available. Which is okay when I’m at home, but not if I’m out and about. Plus it’s easy to over-eat when you’re hungry.

Thanks for these suggestions, Kathryn – your advice is helping me to readjust the way I look at the food I think I need.

I think I have trouble sometimes identifying true hunger. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I spent most of my teens chronically dehydrated and often confused thirst and hunger. From what I’ve read, it’s a fairly common trap that leads to obesity.

As I have some doubts about my ability to always tell the difference, I’ve started a new routine. If I feel like snacking, I have a big glass of water first. I allow myself to have the snack if I am still genuinely hungry 15 mins afterwards.

I’m also an emotional eater, fresh out of Denial. I reach for fatty, sugary, processed junk when I’m feeling bad – almost consciously. It’s perhaps a form of self-punishment, of reinforcing negative feelings about myself. And it’s something that I really have to battle with most days, even though I’m happy with most aspects of my life.

Denying myself junk food isn’t always possible (or even desirable), but I have learned that delaying it is. Like you, I don’t buy junk when I grocery shop so I have to leave the house to get it. I’ve also adopted the strategy of making “deals” with myself at times like this – I can eat the chips, but first I have to drink a litre of water. No exceptions, no cheating.

It serves three purposes:

1) I’m delaying feeding the craving, thereby increasing my odds of beating it on my own.
2) I’m filling up on water, which feels cleansing and makes me less likely to want to ruin that feeling.
3) If I’ve gone to the effort of drinking that much water in half an hour or so, I know that it’s not a fickle desire. I’ve “earned” it. I can enjoy my treat relatively guilt-free. I taste it more.

I these ideas are useful to other people reading, since I learned them the hard way! I’m glad that I’ve developed the awareness I now have so that I can stay one step ahead of myself!

Elizabeth – you’re not alone in having problems identifying true hunger. Given we so often eat when we’re bored / tired / upset, it’s little wonder so many have lost that sense of “hunger”. Needing water is another common one.

I like your strategies. Instead of denying yourself, you’re delaying the reach for food. And you’re checking for dehydration first. Well done.

It helps to only eat until you are 80% full. It’s a technique common in Japan. If you are hungry later you can always eat something else, but often the 80% full feeling is a sensation you get used to. Works for me anyway :o)

Thanks for your comment Nicky – I’m interested in your idea of 80% full. I think one of the ways many people go wrong is, they delay eating, get over-hungry and then over-eat to compensate. Gradually they get used to feeling stuffed and lethargic after every meal – it becomes normal.

Eating until you were 80% full would counter-act this, but I’m intrigued about how this message is disseminated? How do you “know” when you’re 80% full? Or is it something that comes from different attitudes to food? I’d love to know more.

It is simply stopping eating before you feel full, rather than continuing to eat until you feel full. Most people think that they should eat until they feel full and no more. However a lot of people seem to have developed an inability to know what full feels like. So stopping when you still have room for another potato or another slice of bread is one way to train the brain and the belly that less is enough.

Thanks Nicky. Very interesting.