How should I go about changing my eating habits permanently

[RickW209]

I'm 16 years old. I weigh 180 pounds I'm 6 ft. My current eating habits are horrible. I'm coming to the realization that my eating habits will lead to obesity once my metabolism slows down. So I figure it's time to take the bull by the horns and change now before its too late.

The problem is that I lack any direct motivation because the only area I have excess fat is in my stomach/chest that is easily hidden by clothing. I've tried to just quit eating all unhealthy foods at once and within a few weeks was back at eating unhealthy again. So it looks like I need to take this slow. Does anyone have any good advice on how I can change my eating habits permanently?

[GraemeK]

i've faced the same problem in the past and still do from time to time...

if your used to eating the nice foods too often all you can do is use your will power and try to fight off the cravings! its real hard and i sometimes win and sometimes lose... if your heart is set on changing your physicial appearance for life then you will succeed, its just a matter of determination.

a good diet which will keep you full for longer and plenty of water helps

G

[Lovely]

Something easy you can do is, once you've found a good customized diet, to have already printed sheets with the food you find acceptable for you. For me, it goes like this :

Oats, 30 g o o o o
Oats, 30 g o o o o
Milk, 1 cup o o o o
.............
I track everything I eat in a day, I list it, all I have to do is tick every time I eat one of the items on the list. I have 4 dots columns for 4 days.... you can make your own adaptations.
The first step is to make the calculations, according the calories you think you have to put in, according to the right breakdown. You'll find plenty of advices on how to find it out here, and afte, with that kind of tracking, it's peace of mind ! :thumbup:

[CJNY]

Originally Posted by GraemeK

if your used to eating the nice foods too often all you can do is use your will power and try to fight off the cravings!
G

Congrats, Rick on coming to this realization. You're way ahead of most folks your age (or any age, for that matter).

I have to disagree with GraemeK, though, will power is not your only tool. It's not even your main tool. What you need is a multilevel approach.

1. Learn all you can about nutrition. Read a lot - there's so much information out there these days the only problem will be sorting out the disagreements between the proponents of various theories. Trust your judgement and choose what makes sense to you.

2. If you arent involved in regular physical activity, get started. This might not sound like nutrition advice but if you have an immediate reason to keep in top-notch health (like participating in some demanding physical activity) then you are more likely to be motivated. One thing feeds the other. Find something or, better yet, several things that you enjoy and want to be good at and just let yourself enjoy them.

3. Get some first hand experience seeing the kind of mental, emotional, and physical suffering out of shape people go through. This is easy to do because such suffering is so prevalent. If you can figure out some small way to help these people, so much the better but whatever you do don't close your eyes to this situation.

4. Do lots of other things that make you feel good about yourself, whatever this might be , it really doesn't matter. Once you truly learn to love yourself then fitness isn't work, it just happens.

[GraemeK]

many of the those points are valid but the question was about eating habits and i believe will power has to be your main strength or at least with me it does. Learning about nutrition etc will of course help but this wont stop you reaching for the cream cake or chocolate bar even though you know that salad is better for you.

G

[148pounds]

something you can try is eating unhealthy in small amounts when you eat something unhealthy the rest of the day make it up by eating healthy and working out just control what you eat and eat it in small amounts and then make it up and i fyou go off alittle dont worry just start again burn aan d eat healthily for the bad stuff

[GraemeK]

true...

everyone has their off days just dont have them too often!

G

[Octagon]

Originally Posted by GraemeK

many of the those points are valid but the question was about eating habits and i believe will power has to be your main strength or at least with me it does. Learning about nutrition etc will of course help but this wont stop you reaching for the cream cake or chocolate bar even though you know that salad is better for you.

G

Well, you're kinda both right.

I mean, you're right in that all the knowlege and good intentions in the world are completely useless if you don't actually make the changes you know you need to make.

But CJNY is dead on too. Taking care of yourself doesn't *have* to be a battle or test of will and it in fact *shouldn't* be. Looking at healthy living as one long period of deprivation and denial that you just have to soldier through is a recipe for failure.

[Todd]

Before I decided to get into bodybuilding, I ate so much crap food that it wasn't even funny. When I finally read about what generally constitutes a bodybuilder's diet, I was pretty shocked to find out just how crappy I was eating and how much I really had to change my dietary habits. To make this happen, I just decided that muscles is what I wanted to gain, and I was willing to do anything to get a better physique. From that day on when I made my desicion, I started to immediately change my diet for the better. At first it is kind of hard, but the more healthy foods you eat, the more you actually want to eat those clean foods and stay away from the crap foods. The initial step to doing that is hard, but if you want it bad enough, you will learn to eat better, and the better you eat, the easier it is to eat that way. Nowadays, I don't EVEN THINK of having or craving bad foods...instead I now crave my protein shakes, chicken, brocolli, potatoes, etc.

[stencil]

Originally Posted by Todd

Nowadays, I don't EVEN THINK of having or craving bad foods...instead I now crave my protein shakes, chicken, brocolli, potatoes, etc.

So true. I actually woe the few times that I have to go out to dinner to places chosen by friends or family members that aren't all that compatible with my dining habits. I get excited if I find something on the menu that'll work. I look forward to my yummy post-workout shake while busting through that final set.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by stencil

So true. I actually woe the few times that I have to go out to dinner to places chosen by friends or family members that aren't all that compatible with my dining habits. I get excited if I find something on the menu that'll work. I look forward to my yummy post-workout shake while busting through that final set.

Me too, exactly. Sometimes on weekends I get so busy and doing things that make it harder for me to get in my usual quality nutrition, that I almost look forward to going back to work on Monday-Friday just because I KNOW I will be able to better follow my nutritional intake a whole lot more.

[stencil]

Originally Posted by Todd

Me too, exactly. Sometimes on weekends I get so busy and doing things that make it harder for me to get in my usual quality nutrition, that I almost look forward to going back to work on Monday-Friday just because I KNOW I will be able to better follow my nutritional intake a whole lot more.

Heh... I do the same exact thing - especially this weekend. I was all psyched this morning about having oatmeal and green tea.

[PizzaEater]

Originally Posted by stencil

I look forward to my yummy post-workout shake while busting through that final set.

What shake might that be, may I ask?

PizzaEater.

[CJNY]

Originally Posted by Octagon

Taking care of yourself doesn't *have* to be a battle or test of will and it in fact *shouldn't* be. Looking at healthy living as one long period of deprivation and denial that you just have to soldier through is a recipe for failure.

Perhaps this all depends on what you mean by will power. My understanding of what most people mean by this is the ability to force themselves to do something they don't really want to do. When it comes to long-term fitness, this approach simply doesn't work.

The only people I know who have been successful in the long run have been those who did it because they wanted to. Not merely because they wanted the results, but because they developed a love for the PROCESS of getting the results. This might seem like a trivial distinction but it is not.

Do it because you love it and it's easy, fun, and simple. Don't love it yet? You can learn to, but not by force of will. Not by that alone, at least.

[stencil]

Originally Posted by PizzaEater

What shake might that be, may I ask?

PizzaEater.

It's pretty basic. Two scoops of Optimum Whey Vanilla, one scoop of maltodextrin, around 6 oz of orange juice, and around 8 oz of water. Whipped up into a frenzy.