3:39
Three ways to rewire eating habits: put fruit where you'll see it, drink water before eating, and change how you shop to avoid autopilot choices. Small environmental shifts prime your brain for healthier decisions.
Three ways to rewire eating habits: put fruit where you'll see it, drink water before eating, and change how you shop to avoid autopilot choices. Small environmental shifts prime your brain for healthier decisions.
How many times have you been influenced by the buy one get one free offer thing and the things that are brought to your attention because of the special offer or where they're situated in the shop? You get in the habit of buying the same things over and over again because shopping actually becomes a habit. There are so many times I've come home and I think, "How did that thing get in my basket?" So if biscuits and cakes make a regular appearance in your basket, it can be really difficult to change. So how do you change things? Well, here's 3 things that you can do today and start the process of breaking bad old habits and building good new ones. Number 1: Make a few alterations to your environment. If you want to eat more of the healthy stuff, put it where you can see it so it's obvious, and then it becomes a visual cue that stimulates your brain's response. It's no good buying apples and oranges and tucking them away in the fridge or the cupboard. Put them in the middle of the kitchen. In the— on the table and in a big bowl so that every time you see them, your brain will think healthy. Put some on your desk at work, have some in the car, create a whole new healthy world around you. Number 2: Hunger produces very similar feelings as thirst, so if you think you need to eat, drink water instead. Wait a few minutes and I bet you those hunger pangs could fade away. The one thing I hear consistently from people is, "I need to drink more water." So the easy fix for this is every morning fill up half a dozen of small bottles and put them where you can see them in the kitchen or the living room, the— your office, bedroom, even the toilet. Don't keep water in the tap or in a bottle in the fridge. Instead, give your brain the visual cues that quickly create good habits. And number 3, change the unhealthy food you buy each week by changing where you buy it. If you go to the same supermarket every week, you're probably shopping in a trance. You're on autopilot, putting things in the trolley without even thinking about it, because that's the habit you've created. Make yourself think about what you're buying by doing it at a different store, maybe at regular intervals where there are things in different places and your brain doesn't doesn't automatically know where they're located. If you shop online, create a favorites list and don't be sucked in by all the special offers— unless they're healthy offers, of course. Be aware of what the marketers are doing. That's really important. You'll find it so much easier to make healthier choices when your brain's in gear and not on autopilot. In my next video, I'm going to help you to understand the things that trigger cravings, spark off binges and that get you making really unhealthy choices. I'm going to share 3 more strategies I use with my clients in Harley Street that are proven to make a big, big difference.
