The Modification of My Eating Habit

People eat to survive. Additionally, people make choices on what to eat, at what time, and proportions. Good eating is an appropriate and fundamentally rewarding behavior that influences the standards of health of a person. Meule and Vögele (2013) indicate that it is important to have a deeper understanding of eating behavior in order to have knowledge on the basic processes of eating behaviors, and to examine different physiological, psychological, and nutritional aspects of eating. Meule and Vögele (2013) further indicate the complex interplay within a human brain that triggers hunger and satisfaction. However, food is readily available within the human environment in the current times, and challenged its homeostatic regulation, such that the need for food is often triggered when one is not hungry, or one may eat beyond his level of satisfaction (Meule & Vögele, 2013). My desired behavioral change is to change my eating habit by eating food without pork, beef, starches, or sweets, and increase my eating frequency to six small meals a day. I will accomplish this by self-regulating and constantly monitoring my eating to provide the body with the right nutrients both qualitatively and quantitatively, while ensuring that I do not fall victim to overeating.

Literature Review 

Meat is considered one of the rich sources of fat and proteins to the body. However, there is a claim that red meat can result to carcinogenesis (Steppeler et al., 2017), cardiac complication, or puts one to a higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus, and cancer (Guasch-Ferré et al., 2019 ) . Pork and beef are categorized by the study of Steppeler et al. (2017) as red meat. The study compared consumption of red meat, chicken, and fish, and reported a relationship between consumption of red meat and cancer (Steppeler et al., 2017). Fish consumption was reported to reduce the risk of developing cancer, and therefore, they recommended that red meat can be replaced by fish to reduce the risk of developing stomach tumor (Steppeler et al., 2017).

Guasch-Ferré et al. (2019) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials that examined how red meat impacts the consumption of lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, blood lipids, and its effect on the blood pressure. From the study, differential effects of red meat on cardiovascular diseases risk factors were reported (Guasch-Ferré et al., 2019 ) . Significant effects of red meat on blood lipids was reported, therefore, supporting the need for a substitute for red meat. The study also indicated that fish meat was significantly beneficial in comparison to the red meat for the HDL-C, and therefore recommended that the red meat can be replaced by either fish, or soybeans, peanuts, and mixed nuts for a single serving of red meat, as the overall review suggested important benefits of replacing the red meat, including reduced risk of cardiovascular and dietary disorders, and development of cancer cells (Guasch-Ferré et al., 2019).

A plant-based product is suitable for a ‘no starch’ diet. Plant-based food comprising of grains, beans, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. These foods are rich in vitamins, fibre, proteins, and mineral salts. People who consume red meat are at higher risk of death as a result of stroke, diabetes, or heart disease, as compared to vegetarians. In addition, diets low in fruits, vegetables nuts, seafood, and seeds can cause dietary complications since the food categories provide vitamins, proteins, and mineral salt, which are key nutrients for development of a body tissues, and a strong immune system (Childs et al., 2019). Therefore, the diet should include variety of proteins sources such as eggs and low-fat milk are included in the diet. However, for high calorie-content proteins, small portions need to be consumed.

Starch promotes weight gain. This follows that starch is more satiating than fats, considering that they both produce energy within the body, and therefore people tend to take higher levels of starch, which may lead to an energy imbalance. Excess energy results from high consumption of starch, and short chains of carbohydrates (sweet food), which stimulate energy intake, therefore causing weight gain. This implies that consuming a no starch diet is one way of preventing weight gain and avoiding some disorders including overweight, obesity, and diabetes (Leidy et al., 2015). In addition, it is important to avoid grains, corn, potatoes, rice, bread, and cookies. During digestion, starch is broken into sugars. Accumulation of excess sugar in the bloodstream triggers production of large amounts of insulin to regulate the high level of sugar, therefore making one to get frequently hungry. Therefore, a diet comprising non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean protein foods, dairy products, and fruits. This way, one can regulate intake of starch and sugar, therefore managing weight (Leidy et al., 2015). Consumption of fruits and vegetables provide dietary fiber that slows down digestion rate, thus preventing constipation.

Finally, eating six meals a day instead of three allows one to maintain a healthy eating habit as this provides no room for hunger, therefore stabilizing blood sugar levels, managing weight, and enabling one avoid diet-related disorders. A study conducted by European Association for the Study of Diabetes (2017) among 47 diabetic and pre-diabetic patients, which sought to examine the effect of food frequency on glucose metabolism, reports that six small meals are recommended in sugar control than three standard-sized meals. The study indicated that six meals a day reduces the levels of post-oral glucose tolerance test blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (European Association for the Study of Diabetes, 2017). In addition, the study reported no cases of abnormal insulin levels, and no delays in the time it takes to reach the peak blood glucose levels as a result of sugar ingestion (European Association for the Study of Diabetes, 2017). Further, the participants reported reduced desire to eat, and hunger (European Association for the Study of Diabetes, 2017). Therefore, these outcomes suggest that six-meal a day plan improves blood sugar control and regulation of energy levels. This implies that consuming six small meals, but with the same calorie content as three standard-sized meals help in successful dieting.

Treatment 

I will adopt a cognitive behavioral treatment to change my thinking pattern and behavior in order to comply with the new eating habit. Cognitive therapy deals with my way of thinking about food, identify self-defeating patterns, and provide solutions to challenges that undermine success in achieving a healthier eating, and stay positive with self-statements. Adopting positive self-coping statements will enable me to change my thinking and make a lifestyle change.

The treatment requires that I am always aware of what I need to do on each single day so that I can make a commitment and work towards my dietary goals. This implies that I will have to learn to self-monitor to be mindful on the choices of food and portions, be aware of what stimulates me to eat, and stay focused to follow my dietary plan. In addition, I will need to establish an eating setting, and distraction. This means that I will have to eat only in a particular place and time, change challenging eating habits, and adopt healthier activities than eating in a situation where the body is triggered to eat within an inappropriate time. I will have to make sure that I do not skip any meal, I keep track of my eating habits, frequently drink water, exercise distraction, limit night eating, pay attention qualities and quantities of food, and eat within defined settings only. In addition, I will develop and follow a food diary that will indicate what I eat, where and at what time, my feeling during the eating time, and what I will be doing while eating. The diary will enable me to self-monitor myself and understand what to eat and why.

Eating Plan 

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Breakfast	2 boiled eggs	Egg omelette, 1 egg	2 poached eggs	Almond milk, oats (1/2 a cup)	Protein shake	2 poached eggs	2 boiled eggs
Snack	Chocolate balls	Strawberry juice	Yoghurt (1/2 a cup)	Almond butter spread	Apple juice (1 glass)	Chocolate balls	Yoghurt (1/2 a cup)
Lunch	200 g chicken, green salad	Tuna salad	Fish, green salad	200 g turkey breast	200 g chicken, vegetable	Fish, vegetable	Tuba salad
Snack	Almond butter spread	Apple juice (1 glass)	Chocolate balls	Strawberry juice	Yoghurt (1/2 a cup)	Almond butter spread	Strawberry juice
Dinner	200 g lean lamb, vegetable	Green salad, 200 g steak	Steamed fish, vegetable	Green salad, 200 g steak	200 g lean lamb, vegetable	200 g chicken, green salad	Steamed fish, vegetable
Snack	2 mangoes	2 oranges	2 apples	2 bananas	strawberries	20 almonds	Apple juice (1 glass)

Conclusion 

My desired behavioral change was to change my eating habit by eating food without pork, beef, starches, or sweets, and to up my meals to six small meals a day, which is accomplished through self-regulating and constantly monitoring eating to provide the body with the right nutrients both qualitatively and quantitatively, while being careful of over eating. The use of cognitive behavioral therapy will help me monitor the behavior and meet my eating goals. The therapy will include a comprehensive eating plan which require strict adherence, eating diary, and a set of alternate activities that would replace eating when hunger is triggered within an inappropriate time.

References

Childs, C. E., Calder, P. C., & Miles, E. A. (2019). Diet and Immune Function. Nutrients , 11 (8),

1933; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11081933 

European Association for the Study of Diabetes. (2017). Review of the 53rd European

Association for the Study of Diabetes Congress 2017. European Journal of Management , 5(1) 12-26.

Guasch-Ferré, M., Satija, A., Blondin, S. A., Janiszewski, M., Emlen, E., O’Connor, L. E.,

Campbell, W. W., Hu, F. B. Willet, W. C., & Stampfer, M. J. (2019). Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of red meat consumption in comparison with various comparison diets on cardiovascular risk factors. Circulation , 139 (15), 1828-1845.

Leidy, H. J., Clifton, P. M., Astrup, A., Wycherley, T. P., Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S.,

Luscombe-Marsh, N. D., Woods, S. C., & Mattes, R. D. (2015). The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. The American journal of clinical nutrition , 101 (6), 1320S-1329S.

Meule, A., & Vögele, C. (2013). The psychology of eating. Frontiers in psychology , 4 , 215.

Miltenberger, R. G. (2011). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures . Cengage

Learning.

Steppeler, C., Sødring, M., Egelandsdal, B., Kirkhus, B., Oostindjer, M., Alvseike, O., Gangsei,

L. E., Hovland, E., Pierre, F., & Paulsen, J. E. (2017). Effects of dietary beef, pork, chicken and salmon on intestinal carcinogenesis in A/J Min/+ mice. PloS one , 12 (4).