Life Changes from Bad Habits

The tough changes in my new lifestyle led to poor eating habits and a lack of focus on my eating habits caused my weight gain.

Many months of winters in Croatia got me eating more of what I baked and cooked. Cravings increased and I continued this habit for most of the winter months.

Cravings for different foods escalated my weight. I did not allow myself to feel down and sorry for the way I changed.

It was my actions that made me that way. When I felt stressed about anything small, I would snack on anything that came my way.

This included chocolates, sweets or any rich foods and I did not see food as my enemy. I learned that certain foods can be depleted by stress and that certain stress-related illnesses can be exacerbated by dietary habits.

If I wanted to be nutritionally healthy, I had to maintain a balanced diet.

What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet contains a variety of foods that will in return provide you with a variety of nutrients. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins and water are the better foods.

To ensure you get the appropriate variety of foods you have to eat these foods but in specific servings. If you are malnourished you eat too little or too much of the recommended foods, or you ingest some nutrients in inappropriate amounts.

Ingesting too much or too little nutrients can lead to illnesses that in and of themselves can cause a great deal of stress.

Illnesses related to Nutrition:

Coronary heart disease results when the arteries supplying the heart with oxygen are clogged, which makes the blood thick and the blood is not able to pass through the arteries.

I was afraid of the heart problem years back when a family member experienced heart failure while she was in the delivery room. There were complications during the birth of her son, and I know such conditions also have a lot to do with the health of the family history.

I had to restrict my diet to saturated fats, and I had to do that by substituting mono-saturated fats. Peanuts and olive oil are my better choices for a healthy diet. Polyunsaturated fats, liquid vegetable oils such as corn, soybean, and sometimes. I use safflower oils to avoid saturated fats.

Cancer is also found to be associated with diet.

People are prone to developing certain cancers if their diets are low in fibre and are high in saturated foods. Fibre foods are bread, flour, fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereals, and popcorn.

I was nearly sixteen years old when I felt a breast lump and was not sure what to expect but after a few tests, I was told the results were not cancerous.

A fibrous gland called fibroadenoma was removed which is formed in the childbearing years of many women.

It did scare me but after understanding how the tissue was formed, I knew there was nothing to worry about. When I got older, I chose to eat differently to prevent that from happening again in a different form.

My diet played an important role.

I started eating low-fat foods that help prevent breast and colon cancer and foods high in vitamins A and C which help prevent larynx, oesophagus, stomach, and lung cancers.

Enough amounts of vegetables, such as broccoli cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts can prevent digestive tract cancers. Drinking wine was not an issue, but I had limited my wine consumption to avoid mouth, larynx, throat, oesophagus and liver cancers.

Obesity is a great health problem for many individuals.

• Obese women have a higher risk of uterine, cervical, and breast cancers.
• The more body fat one has the more estrogen, and this increases the chances of being affected by any of these cancers.
• I know I can control my body weight I was not obese but had gained a few kilograms and with a slight problem with varicose veins.
• I must be more careful with my eating habits and avoid living a sedentary life.
• I made new changes to my daily habits to ensure a better way of life for me, and to always shop from a list.
• I avoid ready-to-eat foods and don't carry more cash than required for items on my shopping list.
• I found that these tips work well for me.
• Limit food intake.
• I substitute exercise for snacking and have scheduled times to eat and snack.
• I don't accept food offered by others.
• When visiting people, I don't eat when offered this especially, if it is an odd time.
• At home, I keep food out of sight.
• I remove foods from inappropriate storage areas in the house.
• I avoid serving dishes on the table now that I am not able to have what is not visible to me.
• My best choice is to eat from smaller dishes and sampler utensils.
• To get my bad habits away I avoid being the food server.
• I leave the dinner table immediately after eating.
• I don't keep leftovers. I feed them to my neighbour's cats.

Holidays and functions can make an individual go overboard with eating and drinking. I on the other hand remain calm. I don't drink much at such times, so I plan my eating habits before parties.

I prefer eating a few low-calorie snacks before parties and try to decline food. Most importantly, don't get discouraged by an occasional setback.

My Eating Behavior.

The correct way is to put my fork down between mouthfuls. Holding the fork in my hand while still eating mouthfuls can rush me to eat more. If I rush your mouthfuls my food won't be chewed thoroughly before being swallowed.

My eating time is fifteen to twenty minutes. Chewing thoroughly makes it easier on the digestive system. I prepare food one portion at a time and don't eat everything on my plate.

I make a point of pausing in the middle of my meals. When eating I avoid reading or watching television. By watching television or reading while eating I will not know how much I have eaten.

As the stomach sends the message to the brain much later and by the time I realize I have had enough to eat, it would be too late to know how much more I have already swallowed.

Support from loved ones encouraged the healthy lifestyle I wanted to live by.

Self-Monitoring.

• I had to keep a diet diary and note the time and place of eating.
• The kinds of foods and the exact amount were jotted down to make me more aware of my diet.
• I used my diet diary to identify problem areas and made small changes which I felt were easy to continue with.
• That made a difference in my life.

• I learned more about the nutritional values of foods and decreased fatty food intake to have an increasingly complex carbohydrate.

Physical Activity.

Daily brisk walks make me feel more energetic and fit.

During the summer, I sometimes walk during the early hours of the morning but prefer the evening walk just when the sun is almost disappearing.

In the winter, I walk as much as I can but due to bad weather, it is not always possible.

I have another option to keep me active, dancing works perfectly for me and I don't think it would be a good idea to set up unreasonable goals.