Healthy eating is something everyone knows they should do, but few of us do as consistently as we would like. Everything starts on behavioral psychology and that is why we fail to do a diet so often.
Why we crave on junk food
According to many researches when you eat a tasty food there are two factors that make the experience pleasurable.
First, there is a sensation of eating the food. This includes:
- What it tastes like for example salty, sweet, sour, etc.
- What it smells like and
- how it feels in your mouth. This is called ''orosensation''.
This qualities all combine to create the sensation that your brain associates with particular food or drink.
The second factor is the actual macronutrient makeup of the food, the blend of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, that is may contains.
In the case of junk food manufacturers are looking for a perfect combination of salt, sugar or fat that excites your brain and gets you coming back, according to scientists.
How to make healthy eating easier.
Most people thing that building better habits or changing your actions is all about willpower or motivation. But the more we learn, the more we believe is that the number one driver behavior change is your environment.
Your environment has an incredible ability to shape your behavior. Nowhere is this more true than with food. What we eat on a daily basis is often a result of what we are presented.
How to eat healthy without noticing
- Use smaller plates. Bigger plates mean bigger portions , and that means you eat more.
- Want to drink less alcohol or soda? Use tall, slender glasses instead of short, fat ones.
- Use plates that have a high contrast color with your food, for example when the color of your plate match the color of your food, you naturally serve yourself more, because your brain has trouble distinguishing the portion size from the plate.
What should I eat?
In conclusion i will give you 2 good ideas of what you can eat. I also like to mention that this article is not about how to eat healthy but why we eat unhealthy and what we can do to stop this.
- Eat more greens and more veggies. Every dietician in the world agrees on that.
- Eat a variety of foods.
The brain craves novelty so if you add to your dishes new spices or and flavors, can make eating healthy foods more desirable experience.
Happy healthy eating!