When you are trying to put a stop to your unhealthy eating habits you probably don’t have the time or patience to mess around with ineffective methods. Simply telling yourself that you won’t eat junk anymore won’t always work. In fact, most of the time it won’t. Instead, have a strategy in place and make it one that you can rely on.

Building a Strategy to Bust Out of Your Unhealthy Eating Habits

As much as you would love to rely solely on your willpower, the reason you have unhealthy eating habits in the first place doesn’t usually have anything to do with willpower.  One research study after the next has shown that turning to junk food isn’t a matter of having willpower or not.  There are many other factors at play.

If it’s not willpower, then why is it that you keep up your unhealthy eating habits when you want to break them? It’s because you haven’t established a strategy with the right alternative habits. You need to make sure that you understand what triggers you to eat junk food and what you can do to replace that behavior with a better one. Work with yourself, not against yourself.

Positive Steps to Break Unhealthy Eating Habits

Use the following steps to take unhealthy eating habits out of your life and replace them with healthier options you’ll actually stick to.

1. Make Sure Temptation isn’t Always in Front of You

It is really difficult to get rid of bad eating habits when you constantly have unhealthy food choices in your line of sight. By throwing out all the junk food in your vicinity, you make it virtually impossible to eat unhealthily. In turn, you force yourself to rethink the way you shop and cook, which ultimately translates into better eating habits over time.

Take all the junk food in your pantry and give it away, donate it, or toss it into the compost bin. Once you make this step to break unhealthy eating habits, those options won’t be conveniently available to you as often. If you live with other people who aren’t choosing this same boost to their nutrition, create a separate cupboard space meant only for those foods. Make it a place that you won’t see often, so you won’t be tempted to think about them. That’s their space, not yours.

2. Monitor Your Progress Along the Way

When you keep a close eye on the things you eat and on how your choices are affecting your body, you then gain a clear perspective on the value of your newfound eating habits. You will see pounds of fat melt away, while your physique becomes leaner and healthier over time. In fact, cutting out those unhealthy eating habits will render significantly positive physical results in a very short amount of time.

Tracking your progress will keep you aware of what every snack and meal is doing for you – or to you.  This will make it much more natural for you to balance your meals and your days to make sure you stay on track.

3. Give Yourself Rewards for Eating Right

Just relying on the “out of sight, out of mind” principle is not nearly enough to change your unhealthy eating habits for the long run.  You need to add some fun to your life, or you’ll start to feel that you’re simply punishing yourself – which is not the point. Make it an enjoyable experience for yourself, or you will slip back into what feels more comfortable.

Give yourself some rewards for your hard work and conscientious eating habits and watch as your dinnertime ritual takes a drastic turn for the better.  The key is to make your rewards non-food related. Don’t reward yourself for eating healthfully by having a cupcake. This only reinforces the idea that cupcakes are the good fun food while everything else you’re doing is work and punishment.

Instead, enjoy your nutritious foods and reward yourself for your efforts to establish those habits by treating yourself to a fun purchase, a hike through gorgeous scenery, a manicure, or a movie rental. It doesn’t have to be a big reward, just a fun reminder of all the enjoyment you can have in life that doesn’t involve a trip to the drive-through.

4. Have Someone Hold You Accountable for Your Personal Promises

At the end of the day, knowing someone who is willing to hold you to your own word is a great way to cut back on those unhealthy eating habits once and for all. Pick a friend or family member who is a good example themselves, opting away from those who have bad eating habits. This may mean that you’re having someone keep an eye on you or that you’re buddying up with someone else who is working to break their own unhealthy eating habits.

Speaking to your doctor about your goals and to gain inspiring information about what certain unhealthy eating habits could actually be doing to your body can also be very helpful. It will help you to know just what great things you’re doing for your physical and mental health. Keeping those points in mind can help you to keep up your efforts to break old unhealthy eating habits and build new ones.