Imagup General Magazine 2024
Nowadays, a lot of people are faced with the issue of being overweight. Not only is it difficult to maintain a healthy diet, but it is almost impossible to go to the gym a few times a week if you have a full-time job and small kids. Plus, we live in a fast world, meaning that not many people cook every meal at home, but instead, most of us usually choose to eat out.
Well, in this article, we are going to discuss the most common reason why people struggle to change their eating habits, lose weight, and improve their health. You might say that this is all individual, and in some cases it is, but generally speaking, the struggle is the same.
Motivation
Firstly, let’s begin with something obvious – motivation. Motivation is essential for every change you want to make, and eating habits are no different. At the same time, the lack of it is the main reason why people give up quickly.
So, the first question you have to ask yourself is why you want to make this change? Are you facing some health issues and want to speed up the recovery? Do you want to lose some weight? Do you want to boost your confidence? Do you simply want to make healthier choices?
Answer these questions is very important because you must have a clear goal in front of yourself if you want to succeed on this journey. A lot of people feel judge by others for their eating habits, so this can be your motivation. On the other hand, you might feel restricted when it comes to numerous activities, and you believe you cannot engage in them due to your weight. As you can see, reasons can be multiple, and the first step is to understand why this is something you want to do.
Support
Once you have figured out why you want to start eating healthy, it is crucial to surround yourself with people who will support you, and in a way, hold your hand through the entire process. Yes, it will be very difficult to reach the goal unless you have someone by your side.
For example, it will be really tough to resist junk food if other family members eat it all the time. It will be difficult to cook delicious meals for them and not be able to even taste it. Yes, this is another reason why people cave in after only a few days and return to their previous, unhealthy eating habits.
If you live in a large household, our advice is to talk with your family, notify them of your intentions, and ask them to be supportive. Who knows, you might even pursue one of them to begin this journey with you. On the other hand, you can join an online community, exchange advice, and thoughts with other people. Lastly, don’t forget that there are numerous websites, such as health-info.org, where you will be able to find all the information you need.
Unrealistic expectations
When you make this decision, you feel motivated, like you are on top of the world, and there isn’t anything you can’t achieve. You think that you will only eat healthy food, that you will cook all the meals, that you won’t buy anything besides fresh ingredients, and so on. As you probably know, this feeling passes very quickly, and you are left feeling depressed. This is when most people quit.
The problem here is that it is impossible to turn your life around over a single night completely. It just cannot be done, especially when it comes to habits that you have had your entire life. To avoid this issue altogether, you must have a plan. The main thing that you should try to do is to make small changes, one at a time. If you are in the habit of drinking sodas or eating candy every day, you should first try to eliminate them from your diet. If you are a sugar addict, it will be extremely difficult for you to suddenly stop eating it, which is why you should first decrease the intake of it and then, after some time, eliminate it completely.
Not being prepared
A lot of people begin this journey without being really prepared to make all the changes. So, when they face the first challenge, they cannot overcome it and usually go right back to the beginning. What do we mean by “being prepared”?
First thing first, you have to conduct thorough research and understand which ingredients you should eliminate from your diet and which you should start eating. Our advice is not to rely entirely on a single meal plan you find online. Why? Well, you might not like some food, you might be allergic, or it simply might not be possible to cook it properly. If there are some foods that are recommended by nutritionists that you don’t like, you have to find some other healthy ingredients.
Next, our advice is to create weekly meal plans. It will be so much easier to have everything planned out. Firstly, you will be able to cook all the dishes in advance and bring them with you to work. Secondly, you will avoid the trap of eating something unhealthy when you feel hunger. In this situation, most people will grab anything to eat, and this is something that you cannot let happen. When you have a plan, you will know what the next meal will be, you will have time to prepare it, and therefore, you won’t be tempted to order take out.
I will start on Monday
Without a doubt, this is the biggest misconception people have. For some reason, we usually wait for Monday to come. Why? We don’t have an answer to this. Surely, you will need some time to do research, make a meal plan, get all the groceries, and so on. But, there really isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t start the moment you get everything. Don’t postpone this because it will only get more difficult to begin making changes.
