Most people who live in the West have consumed a typical Western diet all their lives. This diet is based on consuming foods available in a typical Western supermarket. The diet will comprise largely of animal protein, supplemented with refined cereal grains such as bread and pasta, refined breakfast cereals, dairy products, along with a lesser amount of highly refined and processed foods and drinks and snacks that often contain high amounts of salt, sugar and fat. Varying amounts of fruits and vegetables will also be eaten. This diet is known and eaten by most of Western society and it is seen as a normal diet. However, this diet is a proinflammatory disease causing diet and will eventually cause the development of a Western lifestyle disease in most individuals. The length of time that it takes for disease to manifest is largely dependent on the genetics of the individual as well as the amount of beneficial food in the individual’s diet.
If old habits die hard and you are having difficulty abandoning certain poor eating habits, then set overcoming them as goals and reward yourself when you overcome them. This will motivate you to focus on the issue and make it a priority.
One of the main hurdles to overcome when embarking on a fat loss programme is therefore to unlearn the bad eating habits that have become normal practice in the typical Western diet. An obvious and extreme example of such a behaviour is adding sugar to tea, something that may contribute significantly to weight gain. Although one would assume that this habit is easy to overcome, it is surprising how many people have difficulty with just this one aspect of dietary change. Sweet tea is highly comforting, which is the reason it is often given to those who are anxious or upset, and this comforting effect, as well as the pleasant taste are sometime difficult to abandon. Many other example of Western dietary habits can be mentioned such as the consumption of unhealthy pack lunches, something that most have eaten since being a child. The crisps, chocolate bars, refined bread and sugar drink are difficult to give up despite their obvious long term disease causing effects.
As Western foods are slowly tapered from the diet and higher quality alternatives introduced, the natural taste sensations should return to the palette. This will make the so called ‘bland foods’ of high quality diets highly palatable, while Western foods will begin to taste overly sweet and even repulsive. The dysfunction in normal taste function is one of the physiological changes that may cause weight gain through consumption of Western foods.
The habits that are difficult to abandon will differ between individuals, but most people will likely encounter some Western dietary habits that stubbornly remain entrenched in behaviour. Anyone who is serious about losing body fat, improving body composition and improving their health must identify these habits and work determinedly to eradicate them. Sometimes swapping to a healthy eating lifestyle can be a daunting task as many of the foods may seem bland compared to the high salt, sugar and fat foods within the Western diet, and so it is generally recommended that a transition between diets occurs over a number of weeks and month, with gradual improvements in key areas. It is inevitable that in this process sticking points will arise, whereby old habits die hard. It is important to focus on these problem areas so that they do not put at risk the progress that has been made in other areas. The abandonment of old habits can be set as major goals to overcome, with rewards being given on achieving these milestones.
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