Tips from Dunja Rieber
Changing eating habits instead of diet chaos: Expert tips for successful results
Do you want to feel fitter, reach your ideal weight, or do something good for your health? There are many reasons to start eating healthier. However, as much as we want to, it often just doesn't work out. The good news is that with simple, small steps, anyone can succeed in changing long-established eating habits. Today, our nutritionist reveals why it often fails, how it can still be successful to permanently change your diet, and why too much sweets are often not the real issue.
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Table of contents
Changing your diet: 9 tips for long-term success
Eating three solid meals a day is a good start. Of course, the composition of the meals matters. But the question is also whether it's really just these three meals - and what is added through snacks. Most people snack throughout the day. At first glance, a milky coffee, cookie, or chocolate bar may not seem like much. However, every time we eat something, our metabolism hits the "stop" button, digestion and cell cleansing get out of balance. Constant snacking also diminishes our natural sense of hunger, and we find ourselves hungry again by the time we finish the last bite. As for the quality of the main meals, we eat too many simple carbohydrates - pasta, bread, rice often make up a large part of the plate.
2. Which foods belong on our plate on an ideal day?
At least 300 grams of vegetables, preferably 400 grams per day. That's about four handfuls. And not just one type, but as varied as possible. Only through diversity do we get enough vitamins and secondary plant substances. Vegetables should always make up half of our main meals. Then a quarter of the plate should be high-quality protein, preferably plant-based in the form of legumes or a few nuts, and if you like, organic dairy products. How you fill the rest of the plate is a matter of personal preference. Whole grains are naturally more nutrient-rich, but if you can't tolerate them, you can add small amounts of potatoes or even light pasta. If the foundation is right, you can be more flexible with the rest.
3. And how do I do that? How can I get rid of my bad habits?
Do you always have sweets on your desk while working, or do you automatically fill a bowl with chips or peanuts in the evening? Do you reward yourself with schnitzel and fries after exercising? Whether it's the daily piece of meat, snacking when stressed, or not enough fresh food, everyone has unhealthy habits. A person of 40 years has already consumed about 40,000 meals. Our brain wants and needs to save time in its decisions. What we eat is largely automated, and we more or less always eat the same things and usually reach for the same foods in the supermarket. Therefore, there is only one solution to break unhealthy habits: become aware of our eating patterns, because only then can we consciously intervene.
4. And how can I uncover such automated eating patterns?
By observing myself for a few days. Keeping a food diary is very helpful, even if it may initially deter some people or they think they don't need it. Writing down what we eat shows much more than just in black and white what we have eaten. It reflects our very personal eating habits. Do I often eat out of stress, comfort, or on the side? Do I even notice when I am truly hungry? Writing it down is a wonderful way to uncover such patterns. This then makes it easy to consciously change them.
If you want to completely change your diet, you are making your brain your enemy. Our brain needs several weeks to accept changes as new habits. If we want to lead our brain in new directions, we should make it as easy and enjoyable for it as possible. This works best in small steps. Try to gradually incorporate mini-changes into your daily routine instead of completely overhauling everything. The new habits should be so small that you can practice them at least once a day. It will also be easier if these new habits are as enjoyable and delicious as the old ones. Eating healthier in the long term only works if we are also full and satisfied.
6. A portion of vegetables is not as tasty for everyone as a piece of cake...
If you want to eat more vegetables and find it difficult, try out many different varieties and preparation methods until you find the ones that you really enjoy. Then include them more often, and after a few weeks, your brain will have accepted the new habit and stored it as tasty. These varieties will then automatically end up in your shopping basket. As for cake: cake and sweets are not the real issue. And no one should replace cake with vegetables. The goal is to create a healthy basic diet where you allow yourself sweets in moderation. No one can sustainably deny themselves every pleasure. Instead of replacing cake with vegetables, the goal is to ensure a healthy foundation and incorporate more vegetables into main meals or dinner, among other things.
7. What mini changes can I make to get closer to my goal of eating healthier?
If we take on too much, failure is almost inevitable. It has been proven and experience also confirms that small changes are much more likely to lead to a lasting change in habits. Small steps that have a big long-term effect: Drink a glass of LaVita right after getting up. Or replace sweets in front of the TV with nuts. Or bring a box of raw vegetables to the office daily instead of grabbing something from the drawer. Or replace part of the carbohydrate side dishes with filling proteins at main meals by adding legumes, nuts, or organic dairy products. What is easy for you and can be incorporated daily?
8. Many have been trying for years to reach their ideal weight. Do you have any tips?
The only way to achieve this is through a better lifestyle and a healthier diet that is not temporary but long-lasting. Many eating habits have been with us since childhood and have been ingrained for years, making it seem impossible for many to change their diet. However, gradually, every unhealthy habit can be overcome. By setting yourself a new small goal each week, you can gradually overwrite these old habits. The key lies in small, continuous steps.
9. What if I simply don't have time for healthy eating?
If we eat unhealthy on individual days, it's not a big deal. With a healthy foundation, we can also treat ourselves to something delicious every day. The important thing is to see through and refute our own excuses in order to make long-term changes. Many small changes do not necessarily take more time. I can just as easily eat chickpeas from a can or a seed mix with my salad, for which I don't even have to go to the bakery unlike for fresh baguette, if I have them at home in stock. Changing our diet is not a time-consuming task if we adjust things to suit us. When we focus on our diet, shop, select, and eat more consciously, we not only save time in our daily lives but also gain gifted healthier years. After all, nothing is more important than our health.