The importance of being kind to yourself while committing to healthier eating.
“Is there a right way to commit to a healthy diet?”
The following written content by Kenny Bodanis
“Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked. “I’ve been with people before who made an initial pledge, and then later regretted it.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked. “I’ve been with people before who made an initial pledge, and then later regretted it.
“Okay,” she said.
They call it the Jumbo Sampler Sundae: five scoops of ice cream, along with five syrups or toppings. It’s one of the irresistible dessert items at Jaxon’s Ice Cream Parlor in Dania Beach, Florida.
Its irresistibility is a biological phenomenon.
A 2018 article published by the Nature Partner Journal: Science of Food says that by the “1900s, this trio of salt, sugar, fat took on a new psychosensory dimension when the processed food industry discovered that these ingredients could be formulated to produce a state of satiety, pleasure, and hedonia in those who consumed them.”
In other words, I’m supposed to fall in love with my vat of ice cream. That is one of the reasons it can be so difficult to commit to a healthy diet: junk food is psychological Cinderella, and her wicked stepsisters are change, discipline, and whole foods.
IS THERE A RIGHT WAY TO COMMIT TO A HEALTHY DIET?
Newman says that before tackling the “how,” an individual has to deal with the “why.” She says, “We have these external reasons for change; it’s something someone told us to do, or something like that … Then there are internal reasons for change, so that’s where it gets down to our core values and beliefs.”
That sentiment is echoed by Kristyn Hall, a consulting dietitian and nutritionist with the Calgary Weight Management Centre. When she talks to her clients, she realizes that it’s not purely about weight loss: “It’s their relationship with food; it’s internalized weight stigma; it’s unmanaged mental health.”
Certain foods make us feel good. My ice cream comforts me; it tells me my workday is done, and it tells other people I am shirking responsibilities for 12 minutes. In many ways, it is saying, “I love you.” Read more from Alive.
