Nobody’s perfect, we all have some bad habits that creep into our lives now and then. Mostly, these habits revolve around food! It’s easy to slip into bad eating habits because they usually make us feel good. Plus, we don’t tend to think about the impact these habits have on our lives until it’s too late.
Don’t get me wrong, slipping into one of two bad habits every now and then isn’t that terrible. The problem is when bad habits happen all the time! They can be terrible for your health, but also for the quality of your life. If you struggle to believe this, then here are some awful habits you should avoid for a better life:
Eating far too much sugar
We’ll kick things off with this bad habit because we’re all guilty of it. I would predict a strong 90% of people reading this eat too much sugar without even realizing it. This is an issue for so many different reasons.
Firstly, sugar can make you put on weight, and it’s also heavily linked to diabetes. Needless to say that excessive weight gain and a serious medical condition are not going to lead to a very happy life. But, sugar is also the enemy of your oral health. Too much sugar can cause caries, which leads to tooth decay. Not only that, but it can also lead to gum disease, which will cause your teeth to fall out. Either way, you end up with a mouth full of fillings or dental implants because of your sugar habit. These treatments can cost a fortune when you add them up, and the alternative is to have a mouth full of rotting teeth or massive gaps where teeth have fallen out.
So, you can see how eating too much sugar damages your life. If you restrict yourself, then you can avoid all of these problems. What’s more, you’ll find every piece of sugar more rewarding and satisfying. Chocolate tastes even better when you only have one or two bars a week - as opposed to one or two per day.
Eating ready meals
Ready meals - sometimes called microwave meals or meals in minutes - are pretty bad for your health. It’s a shame because they’re really convenient! You probably have a few of these every week if you’re looking for something quick to eat after work. The main issue is that they tend to include too much salt.
If you look at the ingredients, then most of these ready meals are packed full of a high percentage of salt. On its own, this doesn’t make the meal that bad. But, think about how much salt you consume every day anyway. It’s in most things, so this basically supercharges the amount you consume.
Some salt is good for the body, but too much is really bad. There have been studies and reports that say too much salt can raise your blood pressure. As a result, this leads to cardiovascular diseases. So, for the good of your heart, cut down on ready meals and monitor your salt consumption every day.
Eating too fast
Ah good, a bad habit that doesn’t have anything to do with specific foods you’re eating. This means you don’t have to cut down on something! Eating too fast is an issue because it can cause a couple of problems that make your life less pleasing. For one, fast eaters will get indigestion. This happens because you eat quicker than your body can react to. It takes time for your stomach to send signals to your brain telling it that you’re full. So, you end up overeating and feeling really bloated.
Consequently, this can make you gain weight as you eat more than your body needs. You push yourself beyond the point of being full, which is pointless. It just leads to extra calories! But, it also leaves you with stomach aches after every meal. Indigestion is a real pain in the backside - sometimes literally - and you can avoid taking medicine by slowing down your eating speeds.
Similarly, eating too fast can also cause heartburn. Again, this is uncomfortable to deal with and can keep you up at night. Therefore, if we’re really looking to stretch this, then eating too fast can be responsible for bad sleep quality due to your heartburn!
Following a fad diet
This will probably offend a lot of people, but dieting is one of the most dangerous things out there. Let me put that into context. There are so many fad diets out there that claim to be good for you. Some of you have probably fallen victim to them before, but one recent example is a diet where you only eat meat. You don’t eat anything else, just meat, meat, meat. It claims to be good for you, but it actually leads to so many health problems.
You see diets like this all the time - the Atkins diet is another famous one. Basically, I’m talking about any diet that tells you to stop eating loads of food types for almost no plausible reason at all. In the end, you have an unbalanced diet! This will cause problems for your health and can lead to a poor quality of life.
So, avoid following any strange diets where you need to stop eating carbs or cut down on protein, etc. Don’t confuse this with vegan or vegetarian diets. Yes, these diets make you cut out certain things, but you replace them with plant-based products. So, the actual nutritional content of your meals is still balanced.
You can’t let these bad habits get in the way of a happy life. It may not seem like they do any damage at the time, but the ongoing effects they have can be troublesome. If you’re looking for some good advice regarding your eating habits, then the best thing to do is eat balanced meals that are packed full of essential nutrients and vitamins. Get protein in your system, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc. Be more mindful of what goes into your body, and you’ll see improvements in how you look, feel, and behave.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to find more articles like this, follow along with the Emma Dawn Blog by subscribing to my email newsletter. If you are looking for Business Consulting services check out the consulting page above.
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