How Your Attitude Affects Nutrition

Eating clean, healthy foods and exercising are part of the puzzle. A new study reveals a positive attitude and mindset could be the missing piece. In this study of over 1,000 people, they refer to a positive outlook as a "promotion focus." These positive participants focused on pursuing and engaging in healthy behaviors.

The study found these people were more likely to have good nutritional habits than those with a slightly more negative outlook, what they termed a “prevention focus”. People with a prevention focus were described as those who were more conce
ed about avoiding unhealthy behaviors. So essentially the difference is between focusing on the positive or the negative.

According to the research, consciously choosing to focus on the beneficial things you can do for your health like having a green smoothie in the morning and meal prepping on the weekend, as opposed to focusing on the things you should avoid, like sugar, junk food and carbs, could result in healthier habits over time.

And in order to make any nutritional changes that will actually benefit you long-term, you have to be in it for the long haul. The changes need to be ones you can sustain over time. This is true if you are trying to lose weight or just clean up your diet and eat better.

There is a very strong correlation between emotional health and physical health so working to improve your mindset and attitude and make them more positive will benefit you mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Meditation has proven to be one of the most effective ways to improve in this area. Even simply reflecting deeply on what is most important to you and why can help you shift your mindset and make healthier changes.