My diet is awful

[Fullofsugar]

Has anyone ever looked at their diet, realised it was awful and decided to change it (and more importantly, stuck to those changes?)

basically, my diet is appalling. I’ve become so used to grazing and I eat far too much processed or junk food. Half the time I’m not even hungry, I’m just bored. I have very little willpower and if there’s a packet of donuts for example I struggling to stop myself eating them all. I’m not actually overweight by some miracle, but I know it’s still not good for my health. I eat takeaways regularly and cakes/donuts and multiple packets of crisps everyday. If I’m in a shop I struggle not to buy lots of crisps/sweets/processed food and eat it all at once. I’ve always struggled with my willpower around food but I want to take control now.

my New Years resolution is to stop it. I’m not extremely health conscious and I’m not trying to lose any weight, I’m just trying to stop eating so much sugary, processed, fast food. I still live at home with my family so I can’t stop them buying junk food obviously, but I’m not buying it for myself. But it’s there, in the cupboard, and my body is crying out for me to eat it. I haven’t cracked so far but I’m really struggling.

I'm not sure trying to stop completely on 1st January is the most effective method. Start by drinking water, lots, increase fruit and veg, prep healthy meals so the nutritious choice is even quicker than takeaway. Chip away slowly but with a mentality of abundance rather than deprivation.

Also, do other things that are good for your body and soul. Paint your toenails, buy nice clothes that fit, make new friends, start an exercise class and go because it's fun not as a punishment...in short (and sorry it's so trite and icky) love yourself.

Can you focus on meals - stop the takeaways and do some cooking? There are billions of cookbooks targeting healthy cooking and eating - I like Dr Rupy's 1-2-3.

Also consider where your food habits come from - maybe a bit of counselling?

Yeah I'm just like this. I'm greedy and impulsive with food then I hate myself later. If there's a big share bag of crisps in the house I can't leave them alone until they're gone. I also eat way too much processed food and not enough fruit, veg and whole foods. One thing that helped me last year was using Hello Fresh. I'm not a very confident cook so these boxes gave me some inspiration and they are all fairly balanced meals that contain at least one (usually more) of your 5 a day.

I've been a total pig over Christmas and I have at least two stone to shift. I'm going to try opting for healthier meals this month. I won't totally restrict myself and I'll still have the odd treat and takeaway because I know from experience that totally depriving yourself just leads to failure. But I really need to change things.

Totally get it, OP - I really love food and eating, and find it hard to resist eating things that are delicious but not good for me! What’s helping for me is I’m really trying to cut down/eliminate processed foods, as I’ve noticed I feel so much better when I don’t have them.

To help with that, I try to batch-cook as much as I can so I’ve got stuff in the freezer that I can quickly reheat, and I’m also trying to include fermented food and ‘gut-friendly’ foods in my meals, like yoghurt and kimchi and sauerkraut, and fruit, veg and pulses. I definitely do still eat processed food and food that’s not that good for me, but try to think of it as at least I’m eating other food as well that I know is healthy.

Have you tried things like having easy access to water, so you can drink some when you’re feeling peckish? Or having ready-to-eat healthy food in snack-size portions and having some of that when you feel hungry (e.g. keep some portions of your favourite fruit and veg in the fridge and freezer, or some bits of cheese, hummus or cooked chicken, and snack on that when you’re a bit peckish/tempted by sugary snacks?)

It can also be handy to batch-cook your favourite meal and pop them in the freezer, so you have something you can re-heat quickly when you’re too busy or tired to cook.

Maybe you could take on a ‘healthy eating challenge’ as a family, and take turns prepping and cooking healthy food you all enjoy? Good luck!

I think you would be best to focus on getting the nutrients you need rather than putting all your efforts into avoiding the things you shouldn't eat.

The reason I say this is that if you manage to fit 10 portions of fruit and veg plus 2l water, there is relatively little time or volume in your stomach to eat any volume of the less nutritional junk. It also means you don't have to battle the thoughts of 'I can't have', because you can, but you need to get the good stuff in too. If you aren't used to eating so much fruit and veg it will seem like a massive challenge to start. But in reality it's not actually that difficult especially if you include veg based meals, vegetable curries, chillies, soups, salads etc. With this include lean protein or beans and legumes.

In addition if you can switch white carbs for whole grain you will also feel fuller longer.

Wow I read your OP and thought "is this me? "

I have no will or drive to eat anything remotely healthy.... can't remember when I last ate a bit fruit or vegetables. How I'm not ill all the time I don't know!

Think a previous poster was right about expecting a New Year's Eve resolution of no junk food to stick is a bit too much .

You need to do it slowly. Make a small change and then once that one is stuck make another.

Think about triggers.

Mine are once the kids in bed, watching tv and out of pure boredom I go looking for snacks. This is even worse at the moment as I've deleted my social media so can't event scroll when im bored!
So I'm now reading ALOT which is no bad thing.

Also, if you can't resist the stuff when it's in the house.... don't buy it!
And I'm exactly the same as you when I go into a corner shop... i can't just buy one thing! I'm literally like a kid with a months worth of pocket money to spend on whatever I want!

I'm no where near as slim as I once was.... not so fussed but the weight is slowing creeping. I lost a stone over the summer and it's not back, my clothes are feeling uncomfortable again so I know I need to cut back. I have constant heart burn so I know my body is now really not liking the way I'm treating it but it's so hard to not eat the bad things!