The hustle and bustle of the average New Zealander’s day makes it hard to resist the convenience of high fat fast food and prepackaged convenience store items. With fast food chains on every corner of the commute and an abundance of prepackaged processed food items at every gas station, it is not surprising that many people find themselves overindulging in sugar and sodium laden high fat, high calorie choices that do little to provide nutrition but a lot to promote irritability and weight gain.

Fortunately, you still have healthy, beneficial choices. You can curb the urge to succumb to the junk food maelstrom and put your eating habits back on the right track with three easy steps.

Step One: Assess the Situation

At what time of day are you most likely to find yourself munching on an extra large box of fries and slurping down a double chocolate shake? It is highly probable that your weakness in the battle against junk food occurs at predictable times. For many, a double chocolate mocha and chocolate frosted doughnut marks the midpoint of the morning. Others need a calorie kick around 2:00 pm to get through the rest of the work day. Many find their worst dietary choices are made at the traditional dinner time, when the task of cooking a wholesome meal at the end of an exhausting day seems too daunting, and healthy dining gives way to a quick stop at the nearest drive-through window.

Find out where your strong and weak points are by keeping a journal of everything you eat, including meal and snack times. Make sure you record all your food and drink consumption for a week. Then sit down and review your journal to determine exactly what your eating habits are.

Step Two: Plan Ahead

Once you’ve figured out at what times of the day you are most likely to eat things you shouldn’t, the next step is to plan ahead so that you are not tempted to make the wrong choices.

The best way to ensure that you will make the right nutritional choice is to prepare your own food at home and take it with you to work or school in a small cooler designed for this purpose. You can even bulk cook healthy food on the weekend and freeze it, so you don’t have to cook anything during the week. This requires a little preparation time, but the results are well worth the effort.

Keep in mind that taking your own food to work doesn’t have to mean hours in the kitchen cooking everything from scratch (unless you find yourself so inclined). Healthy “heat and serve” foods are available at the local grocery store and entire cookbooks are devoted to the preparation of healthy meals in a hurry. There are also many prepackaged healthy snack options available at your favorite grocery. If these don’t appeal to you, fresh fruits and vegetables make a wonderful choice (or a great addition to those prepared meals). The point is, it is possible to combine healthy eating with convenience. However, these healthy options are not as plentiful as fast food restaurants; you have to seek them out.

Step Three: Stick to the Plan

We all have good intentions, but the follow through on a transition to healthier eating is often poor. Once the novelty wears off, many people lose motivation and fall back into the old routine of poor eating habits. Mentally remind yourself every day of the importance of healthy eating, or better yet, write down your reasons and stick them on your fridge and other easily visible places. These little notes will keep you motivated and help you stick to your plan.

 

Danny Kettoola