"How easy is it to change our eating habits?" It is a question that logically concerns many people since it seems that the majority have a tough time making and maintaining the change. Research shows that only 1 in 8 men and 1 in 7 women with morbid obesity manage to lose weight and maintain the loss. Our diet is a daily activity, and as with all routines and habits, it is difficult to change overnight.

So, I disagree with answers like "very easy!", "Everyone can do it!" etc. Nutrition has to do with education, and it takes time to understand the data, apply what we've learned, and eventually create a new habit. In this text, we will see how it will become easier to start a change in our eating habits and maintain the result we have achieved. There are four main points that we should pay attention to:

1. Let's see where we are in the present, what we want to achieve, and if it is realistic. If we do not assess our initial situation, the action plan we will design will not be effective. It's like planning a trip to the beach when it's going to rain: it doesn't mean that our tour will necessarily end badly, but it won't be what we expected either. By putting down the data and evaluating it with an objective eye, we will be able to distinguish our goals in nutrition.

2. To set goals that are within our reach. After clarifying where we are and what we want, we make our goals, which should suit us. Even one significant change in the semester is a big life investment. What would it be like if we learned to eat vegetables with our meals within six months? It may seem like a small goal, but it takes a lot of practice and will also positively influence the quality of our diet.

3. To try to maintain the changes, with effort and concentration, giving time and space to ourselves. As we mentioned above, any change we make is quite hard since our diet until now is an established routine. So we will need to have enough concentration even after we have achieved a change since our body tends to revert to the old ways. Trying to be patient and give ourselves space and time is probably a trivial piece of advice, but one that is hard to put into practice.

4. Not to overanalyze our diet. What we achieve or not in our diet is not a measure of our worth. We often tend to relate our failures in nutrition to our personality traits. We think we are not disciplined, patient, persistent, organized enough, etc. Something like that is untrue. Unfortunately, nutrition is not a project in our work that we will do or simple calculations in math. A network of genetic and environmental factors can make the process quite difficult for us. Issues such as sleep, psychological state, life problems, or genetic predisposition to diseases (like obesity) greatly influence our food choices. So, instead of beating ourselves up for something we didn't achieve, it's significant to recognize what's concerning us and move on.