Whether it’s the holidays, a birthday or office lunch, the influence of others can be a challenge.
I don’t want any, thank you.
Eat it!
We’ve all heard it before:
“One bite won’t hurt”
“Live a little”
“You can eat healthy tomorrow!”
If you’re looking to lose weight, prevent disease,
support your immunity and digestion, what you eat matters.
But.
Nutritional excellence can be challenging when you’re constantly surrounded by mediocrity.
Restaurants and supermarket aisles are overloaded
with food designed to mess with your gut and toy with your hunger drive.
Luckily, there is a way!
Here’s how to live healthy when others don’t.
Understand your biology,
and you’ll understand that any sort of craving or addiction is natural and inevitable.
You are not designed to resist.
Things are tempting because those are biological signals telling you to do it.
You must work harder on your environment than on yourself.
A sudden splurge on cigarettes, booze or buttercream isn’t the best idea.
We’re easily influenced by other people.
We don’t want to stand out.
Studies have even shown that people eating together mirror
each other, even going as far to chew at the same rate.
That’s why it’s so important to go to social meals prepared.
Look at the restaurant menu before going, and decide what you’re going to order in advance.
If you don’t have the option, remember to fill up on healthy food before so you eat less.
Make sure the advice you’re adhering to is backed by science.
Following futile pseudoscience will only lead to disappointment and disillusion.
It won’t be easy, but tested methods can release any uncertainty: commitment will lead to results.
Don’t ignore cold hard facts.
Educate yourself.
When you know the long-term risks of candy, red meat or cigarettes,
it’s much harder to fool yourself.
And don’t forget it.
Refresh your memory and look at visual proof of the reality – and side effects.
Joining “the bad side”
really is as dramatically damaging for your health as you’ve been led to believe.
Delay gratification and change it completely it.
Reframe your mind so that that act of eating that,
or doing that isn’t the reward — but the moments after.
True joy comes from being in a healthy state, not from a couple of minutes of a rollercoaster ride.
Remember how good you will feel when you consistently live healthy.
Visualise the reward.
Ouch! One pound heavier Frase.
Well, that can't be, I've added a salad to every meal.
Commit to a couple weeks. Fully, and completely.
This gives your brain and body chance to refresh and truly experience a new way of life.
Sure, there will be cravings and anxiety, but after a week it will become second nature.
Your gut bacteria will change to reflect your new state — and crave the good stuff.
Control is an illusion. Don’t mistake a few months or weeks into a guarantee.
It’s easier to slip back.
Remember steps 1-5 and make it a habit.
Associate those previous “pleasures” with pain.
Naturally, it will cease to be rewarding.
But remember they are full of addictive substances.
They are designed to make you crack.
Abstinence is easier.
And if you do indulge, cap it. Only allow a small amount.
It’s inevitable to be surrounded by people that don’t value health as much as you do.
Yet, there’s always a way to navigate the social shark tank.
Educate yourself – regularly – and you’ll have the knowingness to override moments of weakness.
It’s all about the average of making more healthy choices than not.
And if you get in a sticky situation, remember that NO is a full sentence.
You do your thing. Bon appetit.
Check out more of my videos on healthy living here.