“First, second and compote” – this expression from the Soviet past has long been rooted in our consciousness and dictates the rules by which we eat. Let’s figure out why this happens and what habits it’s high time to get rid of.
How food culture has changed
The main task of the 20-40s of the last century, especially during periods of famine, was to feed the population of a large country. The problem was solved by growing potatoes, which became the “second bread”, and producing high-calorie and highly nutritious foods: milk , butter, meat, bakery products, sugar. Most of these products can be as refined.
Then there was a total deficit, people ate a rather monotonous diet. Meat, fish, butter had to be “obtained”. And during the perestroika from the late 80s to the early 90s, a free market appeared. Foreign products flooded into stores, most of which can also be classified as refined and harmful: snacks, chewing gum and sweets , margarine.
A large number of semi-finished products and fast food have appeared in the daily menu. And this has undoubtedly affected both eating behavior and the health of the population. Moreover, a similar situation has developed in other countries. Thus, according to of specialists from the World Obesity Federation, if eating behavior is not changed, then by 2035 60% of the world’s population will be overweight.
At the same time, there are also adherents of healthy eating — and their number is growing. People are beginning to understand that health largely depends on quality food. According VTsIOM, 87% of Russians try to approach their food choices consciously, and 40% adhere to healthy eating. However, many still find it difficult to get rid of some inherited bad eating habits. And here’s why.
What bad eating habits have come with us from childhood?
Not only certain historical periods and cultural values influenced nutritional norms. Habits that are formed in childhood also play an important role. For example, when products or certain meals are prohibited or, on the contrary, encouraged. And also when the behavior of older family members is accepted as the norm and copied subconsciously.
1. Candy for calming down
Sweets remain the most popular way to cope with stress. According to , more than half of Russians eat them when they are nervous.
And it all starts in childhood. Instead of helping the child understand his feelings and teach him to recognize and experience them, parents often distract him with something tasty. And later, in adulthood, this becomes a habitual way of compensating for stress.
Such experience is often one of the reasons for emotional eating behavior, when food is a way to escape from negative emotions or their central source. All this can eventually lead to diseases – eating disorders, bulimia , when a person blames himself for what he ate. Or nervous anorexia, when he limits food to a minimum because he thinks he weighs too much.
How to break a habit
This behavior pattern is quite difficult to change. But it is still possible. Changes begin with the realization that this is how you currently compensate for stress. A healthy alternative is to learn techniques to combat this condition. You can try to eliminate some of the sources of stress, and accept others, over which you have no control, as a given. A psychologist-addictologist can also help in the fight against this habit.
2. You won’t leave the table until you finish eating.
Another common form of raising eating behavior, which leads to the child not being able to determine the feeling of satiety . And as a result, he finishes lunch or dinner only when all the food is gone.
But forced food forms negative associations with food intake. Their degree can be both insignificant and sufficient to become the basis for the development of eating disorders. For example, the restrictive type.
It can be expressed in avoiding full meals and limiting calories. And in some cases, the habit can lead to psychogenic overeating, when the feeling of satiety comes only with a feeling of distension, fatigue and even drowsiness.
How to break a habit
Ask your loved ones to watch you or try to analyze how you consume food: do you finish everything, even when you are already full? Do you leave food on your plate when you are full, or do you finish everything to the last crumb?
As a rule, such awareness can be enough to start controlling yourself. Although sometimes it is really difficult to not eat enough and throw away food. But you need to do this so that next time you can visually evaluate the portion better.
Try to put less on yourself than usual, and after you eat, think about whether you are full. If yes, then now you know your real portion. If not, then no one canceled the second helping.
And don’t forget to drink more water . Quite often thirst is confused with hunger, so the rule “drink first, and then think about whether you really want to eat” works. Of course, you shouldn’t replace a full meal with water – we are only talking about sufficient fluid intake during the day.
3. First, second, dessert
This “equipment” was mandatory in most Soviet families due to intensive work, requiring high efficiency and a large amount of energy. Children spent most of their time outdoors and led a fairly active lifestyle, and therefore their diet was also rich in dishes.
Today, this concept leads to eating more food than necessary. And in one meal, the body simultaneously receives complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats and simple sugars contained in dessert.
As a result, the food bolus moves through the intestines much more slowly than necessary. And the high sugar content in its composition can especially common in people with a genetic predisposition to lactase deficiency.
The habit of finishing a meal with sweets not only on the psychology of perception, but also on some physiological aspects. This increases the average glucose levels after a meal, which the nervous system gets used to first of all. As a result, the usual feeling of satiety occurs only with elevated blood sugar levels, which prompts a person to eat sweets and closes the vicious circle.
In adulthood, this creates a tendency to overeat and perceive meals as feasts .
How to break a habit
It is important not to allow yourself to get very hungry, because eventually you will want to “catch up” with dessert to feel full. Eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly. Focus on your food, not on watching TV or video content on your smartphone. Saturation does not occur immediately, but within 15–20 minutes. Therefore, tea time should be postponed for 2 hours after the main meal.
4. Dessert as a reward or limiting sweets as a punishment
Parents like to use this technique, for example, when trying to involve children in household chores or studying. Such encouragement leads to the dessert being perceived as a prize and forms a craving for sweets. As a result, in adolescence, when parental control becomes less, or in adulthood, where it is no longer there, sweets can be consumed in excessive quantities.
How to break a habit
Track your attitude to sweets , answer the question honestly: is it a reward, compensation or do you just need positive emotions? If you answered at least one question “yes”, you should choose more rational alternatives that are not related to food.
5. Bread is the head of everything
Numerous revolutions and wars caused shortages of many food products, which is why bread became one of the most valuable commodities during the war and post-war period.
Cereals were available almost throughout the country, while other products, such as meat, fish, and fruit, were not. In addition, bread is filling and nutritious, easy to store, and therefore became the basis of the diet in many families.
Some people do not perceive a meal without bakery products. For example, in Russia, the consumption of these products 114 kg per capita per year, which exceeds the norm by 19 kg. This can be either a behavioral aspect – the habit of eating bread with first and second courses, or a taste aspect, when there is a need to feel its taste.
How to break a habit
If you can’t give up this product completely, opt for whole grain options. And try to reduce the number of pieces to 2-3 per day.
The first and most important step to getting rid of bad habits is to become aware of them. Once you understand the true reasons for a certain eating pattern, you will have an objective view of your diet, and food addictions will gradually disappear.