A practical guide to build new Eating Habits.

Given the importance of diet to your health, ensuring that the food environment is optimised to your advantage is a critical to longterm success.
What is the food environment?
The food environment is any place that you store, cook, purchase and consume foods. This is therefore not limited to just the kitchen. External factors are always at play, such as the supermarket and shopping behaviours, and social engagement.
The food environment is important for a number of reasons, such as:
Impacts on the quality of food eaten, the type of meals cooked, and whether or not you will actually cook.
Influences the act of eating - whether or not you're present and mindful when eating.
Impacts on cessation of eating and the onset of a new eating episode. It can be an indirect regulator for total energy intake.
I'm sure you can now relate to the statement at the start of the post. Adjusting your food environment to align with your goals will have enormous influence on how you navigate food related behaviours, like cooking and eating, thus determining your achievement of the goals.
Below is a visual of the elements involved in successful healthy lifestyle change. The top two categories apply to the food environment directly, whilst the bottom two are factors that support the execution.

Reflecting on the current food environment
We're going to ask a series of questions through this post to assess the current state of your food environment.
I recommend you to take the time to consider them seriously. We want to paint a full picture of your food environment and related behaviours. Once we do that, we're better placed put actions in place to achieve your goals.
Ask Yourself the following questions:
Where do I eat most of my meals?
Do I cook?
What's around me as I eat?
Do I use technology while I eat?
Where is my attention directed when I eat?
What am I doing while cooking? Snacking? drinking wine?
Do I plan my meals?
Where do I shop?
Do I make a shopping list?
The Kitchen
The major food environment

As mentioned before, the kitchen is not the only factor of the food environment, however, being the main environment for cooking and food consumption for most people, you want to ensure that this environment is organised to best suit you, as a person with a goal to be healthier.
This is where aesthetics really matter! Again, there are some questions that you should ask yourself:
What does my kitchen/dining area look like? Is it cluttered?
Is the cooking area clean and ready to be used at all times?
Would I invite strangers into my kitchen and be proud of it?
The kitchen area should be free of clutter at all times. Just like an organised office desk is the key to productivity.
The counter tops should be clean and open with space. You should clean directly after cooking. It should be welcoming, and you should be able to cook at the click of your fingers. A cluttered kitchen or dirty utensils from a previous meal only serves as a barrier to the next meal.
Kitchen drawers and utensils should be organised in a manner that are easily accessible. Don't just focus on the visible, the invisible is equally important.
These aspects may seem silly but the likelihood of you engaging in health behaviours such as cooking depends greatly on the conditions of your environment.
The Workplace
The second major food environment

For most people, the second most important place they eat or may leave to eat is the work place. Ask yourself:
Do I eat in a designated eating area?
Do I eat at my desk while consumed by work?
Do I bring home-cooked meals/food from home ?
Do I eat out as a result of poor organisation?
A lack of organisation can result in eating out on a regular basis. When eating out, poorer decision making around food choice is more likely. Additionally, meals tend to be higher in energy than one would expect.
You will always have more control over your meal when it's prepared yourself. Being organised with respect to lunches from home, or from a meal prep company are a great way to improve diet quality outside of the home environment.
Avoid eating and working at the same time. Being distracted while eating can lead to mindless overeating and lack of awareness to hunger signals. Eating in a designated lunch space and following the guides of slower and mindful eating should be applied here also.
Of course it's not lost on me that work can be stressful, and taking time for a focused lunch can be easier said than done. If I speak for myself though, when making the non-negotiable choice to pause for a mindful lunch, the world doesn't freeze over, and those emails are still there when we get back, regardless.
The Supermarket
The third major food environment

Most people buy groceries from the supermarket. The supermarket is one of the most influential factors on the diet. As yourself:
Do I shop in store or online?
Do I use a shopping list?
How do I navigate the store?
Do I shop while I'm hungry?
Learning to shop better is one of the most powerful tools that you can acquire when it comes to improving diet quality. It adds to your personal mastery of your goal - being a healthier person.
The marketing of foods, the tactical layout of supermarkets, the food hedonics (eating for pleasure) and our innate senses act as a big barrier between you and your goals.
Apply the following strategies to master the supermarket:
Assess your activity level of the week ahead and plan meals accordingly.
Make a shopping list and set a personal rule to buy only those items.
Eat before shopping! Shopping when hungry can be a bad idea.
Be conscious of "nudging" tactics. ie: 2 for 1 sale on chips.
Be consistent with where you shop, this will help stop food browsing, and make it an efficient process.
Here's a free Shopping list & Reflection Download. Use it & see the impact it has on your overall food habits.
The Food itself
"Out of sight, out of mind" is a common saying that's well suited to the food environment dilemma. Food is a powerful thing. The smell, texture, taste, colour and the availability are all factors that impact on eating behaviours.
What type of food do you keep in the house?
How accessible is this food to you?
Can you see the foods you need? (i.e. visible fruit bowl)
Can you see the foods you don't need? (highly processed snack foods)
Do you have a visible "naughty" snack drawer?
Desirable foods should be kept more visible, undesirable foods should kept less visible. Period. This requires some effort and organisational thinking.
Secondary to this, the fridge should be well organised. Foods that are immediately in your eye line should be nutritious whole foods (fruits, vegetables, yoghurt, milks, lean proteins), with less desirable foods (calorie dense/nutrient sparse - butter, chocolate, spreads & condiments) kept more out of sight in the bottom half.
The act of eating
How you eat is more important than you think.

Digestion is one of the most overlooked aspect of a person's diet. The processes of digestion and absorption begin in the mouth.
There are a few practical things we can do to aid our digestive a system. Some involve food, most do not.
Firstly, take your time when eating - This can't be emphasised enough. Don't rush, no matter how hungry you are. Take 15 to 20 seconds between mouthfuls. Put the fork down between bites. Take a sip of water. Have conversation with friends, family, colleagues.
Chew your food mindfully - Aim for 15 chews per mouthful, minimum. Chewing food increases the surface area to properly breakdown foods and allows for better rates of absorption.
Breathe and think - After each bite, take a breath and think about how you feel. Recognise the tastes and emotions you feel. Food is part of culture and it allows you to experience amazing tastes. This helps us to slow down & shifts us out of the fight/flight mode we're often in.
Eat until you're satisfied, not until you can't any more in. This is part of self awareness and being present when eating. Too often, we are concerned with eating as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Stop that!
Don't be afraid to leave food on the plate. By taking your time with eating you can listen to the signals your body gives you. Use smaller plates & cutlery so that you eat smaller amounts each time. You'll be less concerned with leaving food on a plate as there's less food to eat.
Organisation
Being organised is being in control.
Ask yourself:
Do you organise your eating or are you a person who grabs on the go?
Do I have the organisation and know-how to make a positive change?
If not, why not? What skills could I learn?
What are the major pillars of organisation for me to succeed?
Apply the following strategies to master organisation of your eating behaviour:
Plan your meals, don't meal plan. Knowing when and what you will eat helps limit sporadic eating habits and snacking.
Create a shopping list once you have planned your meals. Then buy only what you need.
Shop online if desired. This reduces the chance of impulse buying when walking the shopping aisle.
Set aside time for cooking. Look at the week ahead, identify when the best time to cook is. Batch cooking can save time and money.
Can you plan and organise your habits for the morning, the night before? Organise foods & utensils so that you can sleep a little more in the morning.
The Tools
Have you got access to the basic tools?

Cooking without the basic tools would be like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel. You're limited in your ability to fully function.
Have the basic tools first, then add the style. Accumulate them over time, starting with the highest priorities.
The ideal tool box
Suitable cookbooks / recipe packs
Sharp knives
Chopping board/s
Range of pots, a wok and roasting tray
Mixing Bowl(s)
Peeler
Food weighing scales
Grater
Garlic Crusher
Wooden Spoons
Spatula
Strainer
Scissors
Aluminium Foil
Storage containers / Lunch Boxes (glass are best)
Blender / hand held blender
One pot
Slow cooker
Rice cooker
Measuring cups
Masher
Moulds and bread tins
Key Takeaways
Ask the hard questions first, answer them honestly and make a plan for changes, where required..
Improving your food environment is challenging. There's no about about it. But if you're serious about becoming the healthier version of you, take the steps to change it over time.
Begin by changing one aspect at a time, then once comfortable, change something else. It's just like what we've discussed regarding habit building. Start with the lowest hanging fruit first - the easiest organisation strategies to implement consistently, then move to the next.
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