It’s a frustrating ordeal to spend time thinking and choosing what to eat. It’s also highly annoying when you don’t know what you want to eat. Food becomes your enemy in time because you don’t know how to fulfill the hunger pangs by eating something healthy, nutritious, and delicious. There could be times when your mind says to eat something green, but your heart desires something sugary sweet.
Being a picky eater isn’t something you can transform out of overnight. If you feel you’ve had enough with battling your food choices every mealtime, you can start changing your habits. Here are ten tips on how to stop being a picky eater:
1. Start with water
When is the only thing essential to your survival is entirely calorie-free? You don’t need sodas, and you don’t need juices. You don’t need anything that comes with high sugar content, and why would you? Water is all you will ever need to help put your mind at ease and keep you hydrated to clarify what to eat.
2. Eat when you are hungry
If you want to create a healthy relationship with food, you need to practice eating when you’re starving. Boredom, stress, nervousness, or maybe even out of the habit of snacking, these factors could lead you to mindlessly be indecisive when it comes to choosing what to eat.
When you think you’re hungry, reach for a glass of water first. Give it a while, and if your stomach is still rumbling despite filling yourself up with water, then you know it’s genuine hunger.
3. Mix foods you like and don’t like
If you find yourself ordering or making the same type of food day in and day out, why not try mixing the foods you always will like with food items you’ve never tried before. Create a half-and-half of the things you want and the things that are new to help your mind be comfortable with the idea of fresh food items.
4. Go to your favorite places
Portion control is a great way to stop being a picky eater. When you’re dining at your favourite restaurant, it’s time for a bit of habit change if you want to become less of a picky eater.
Instead of saying no to a food item, order the smallest portion of whatever it is you haven’t tried. That way, you’ll still get the try something new but in a smaller quantity. You’ll also be creating less waste.
Another excellent way is to order meal delivery services from various restaurants and providers. That way, you can still eat your favourite foods without the effort or time needed to prepare the meal.
5. Brush your teeth after meals
Once your dinner is made, wait about 30 minutes and then brush your teeth. It is advised not to brush your teeth immediately after meals because the enamel is still in a weakened state after all that food, and you could risk damaging your tooth.
Brushing your teeth after dinner will signal to your mind and your body that eating is over and done with for today, and it’ll help significantly reduce the stress of figuring out what to eat next.
6. Get enough sleep
This is probably the most overlooked tip, but you should make a constant habit of sleeping regularly. Proper sleep is your key to managing your hormones and mind, which controls your decision-making with food. A mind with enough sleep creates clarity in making the choices in life.
7. Ditch sugary drinks
Artificial sweeteners are a disrupter of our body’s ability to regulate calorie intake naturally. The high sugar content increases our cravings for certain types of food, making it harder for us to decide what to eat during mealtimes. Stick with water as much as possible.
8. Use a bigger plate
If you are willing to try something new or not particularly happy with the food in front of you, use bigger plates. This will trick your mind into giving you the illusion that your food portions are smaller, so it’ll be easier to finish what’s on your plate.
9. Chew the food fast
While it’s always a good thing to take your time and savour the food you’re eating, you might want to try eating at a quicker pace when it comes to the foods you’re not very interested in. There’s no specific science behind this tip, but it’ll help you from overthinking and dwelling on the asparagus you don’t like.
10. Keep a positive attitude about eating
Every morning when you wake, take a couple of deep breathes and close your eyes like you would if you were about to meditate. Then, tell yourself every morning that you can, and you will be committed to having a better relationship with your food, and you are stronger than your desires. Positive affirmations and mantras can do wonders to change the way you think, and the more you repeat them, the more they will become a part of your life.
