ROANOKE, VA. -- We all know how important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. From getting enough sleep, to exercising, and eating right. But sometimes all of that mixed together can seem overwhelming.
Dr. Glenn Kent is an Assistant Professor in the Health Psychology Program at Jefferson College of Health Sciences.When it comes to dieting he warns against hard rules.
"They tell you what to do and what not to do and you have to eliminate things from your eating habits and your diet," Dr. Kent says. "It is not good for us psychologically to be told what to do. Nobody likes to be told what to do."
If you get to the vending machine and you find yourself saying, ‘What do I want?,’ chances are that it is not a food that makes you hum, because you weren't thinking about it beforehand. It may just be eating out of convenience or perhaps out of emotion or stress. Things that it takes baby steps to overcome.
For Dr. Kent, Graces Pizza is what makes him hum; he looks forward to it on Fridays.
"This is a food that makes me hum and I do not give that up. Giving that up is the worst thing you can do psychologically,” says Dr. Kent.
Here are the facts: allowing ourselves those foods that make us hum frees up our mind, but eating isn't a chore. it is important to pay attention to natural cues. if something is triggering that craving, it may be a food to stay away from.
"Everything is okay in moderation and I think we have gotten away from looking at our eating habits in that way,” says Dr. Kent.
Dr. Kent says it is good to focus on the quality of the foods you eat. It's the quantity and the frequency of eating that gets us in trouble.
(Information Courtesy NBC News)
