Why You Make Bad Food Choices
By Sara Butler
You know that Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese is bad for you -- but you enjoy every bite of it anyway. Same goes for that pint of ice cream you polished off in one sitting. In the moment, what you're eating is delish, but when you're done? It's a one-way journey to Disappointmentville, population 1.
If you're trying to eat healthier, then it's time to take a step back and examine why you make these choices you know are bad for your health and wellness. Here are a few of the reasons that can drive this behavior and how to solve them.
Too Many Choices
One of the biggest reasons for making less-than-stellar food choices is that you're simply sick of making so many decisions about food. When you're trying to eat healthy, you have a litany of choices to make such as:
- What to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
- Where you can take your family to eat and if you'll have what they're having
- How much you exercise each day
- The need to weigh your food
- Writing down what you eat each day to keep track
- Avoiding pastries in the office lounge
Those are just a few of the decisions you make about food every day -- that doesn't even include all of the other important stuff you have to decide. No wonder you're tired of it. You can avoid this trap by trying to stick to a similar diet each day. Basically, take the decision making out of your day-to-day diet as much as possible. Fewer decisions can make it much easier to avoid tempting foods you know aren't good for you.
Stress
Bad food decisions and stress go together like Ben and Jerry. Like chocolate chips and peanut butter. Like a thick milkshake and a cheeseburger -- you get the idea. Stress is a trigger for a lot of bad decision making in the food department. The truth is that some foods can temporarily make you feel better when you eat them and help alleviate the stress you're feeling, but it's not a good long-term plan.
In order to combat stress eating, you need to be able to identify stressful situations and wait before you eat anything under those conditions. Once you have a handle on your triggers, then you can begin to make better food choices.
It's important to not be too hard on yourself when you make bad food choices, but it's equally important to understand why you make them and try to work on it!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Wichita, Kans.