This blog post will include the four key stages of eating behaviour. That being said you can use these methods for not only food but for any habits that may need adapting for a healthier version of you.
Modifying eating behaviour stages, is the transition of someone who has identified that they need a change in the way they eat as they have acknowledged that this could bring improvements to health and well being. To eventually take the necessary steps to achieving a healthy eating habit, which further includes maintenance in order to carry on.
The Four key stages of eating behaviours described:
Pre-contemplation / Contemplation change.
This refers to the time before you are aware that you need to change, followed by the awareness that you may in fact need to start making some changes into your daily habits. This is sometimes influenced by others achievements or even simply watching a documentary on healthy eating habits, which may encourage the person to further investigate.
Preparing for action.
This stage is when you think about the best way of bringing about whatever changes are necessary to establish your new habit. This new habit could be that you are going to introduce eating at least 1-2 fruits each day. You need to be as specific as possible and think of how this may be possible. For example you may need to change your shopping habits in order for you to get those 1-2 fruits in a day. You must also take into consideration the time you're going to eat this food and maybe what foods are going to be a good swap, i.e. sweets and chocolates. The preparation is important as it will provide you guidance and a structured approach into a smoother transition of making this habit stick.
Initiating changes.
This is the moment where you will be taking action. The key is to make small changes than it is to make large ones as this will allow you to ease into new habits and tastes to be established before moving on to the next change. For example, preparing to have everything ready the night before which will allow you to stay on track. It is important to not completely shut yourself off from your normal leisure times, like going out for coffee with friends or dinners. This will allow you to show off your new changes on your journey which will motivate you to carry on, that being said you must account for the extra kilojoules you may consume in them periods so you may want to make pre-arranged plans in order to counterbalance the kilojoules. For example you can take part in aerobic exercise or you could have a lighter meal than you would normally either before or after your intended social meal that may not be as nutritious.
Maintaining new habits.
Your new habits have now been established. Introducing new habits at a comfortable rate, and you feel like you are ready to move onto the next, then do so. This will release a positive can-do attitude as you are ticking off and making progress. If you make the occasional lapses, you must not worry and think where you went wrong and learn from this as it will improve your eating habits in the long-term.
It is important to be confident that you will succeed. Persistence and a never giving up attitude will also help. You can always seek help from family and friends or other means of motivation.
If you are eager to learn and adapt in building new habits there is a book i highly recommend, Atomic Habits by James Clear. This book explains what a habit is, the benefits, science behind habits and great examples of introducing new habits into your everyday life.
