I tend to eat junk food all day because it's most convenient. What are good ways to change my habits and eat healthier? 

Unfortunately we are bombarded with junk food all day long.  Whether it is in the break room at work, the school cafeteria, or the fast food drive-thru on the way home, unhealthy food choices are convenient, cheap, readily available, and often connected to social interactions.  So, how can we put a stop to our constant junk food eating? The key to eating healthy is to plan ahead.  Plan your meals, plan your snacks, and most importantly plan your choices.  

Planning healthy meals and snacks will ensure that you do not fall prey to convenient foods.  Try to eat 3 meals along with one or two small snacks each day.  For each meal and snack combine protein, fiber filled carbohydrates and a small amount of healthy fat.  This will stabilize your blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied so that you will not be as tempted by the junk food around you.  As you are planning your meals, take into consideration the amount of time you have to prepare your meals.  If you are too busy during the week, take time to prepare meals on the weekends or find quick recipes that take only a few minutes.  Purchasing prewashed and cut vegetables and salad mixes are great time savers.  Just be sure to plan meals that fit into your schedule so that you can be consistent with your new healthy eating habits.  

A snack or two a day will also help your new healthy eating habits by keeping you satisfied throughout the day and preventing overeating at meals.  Good and easy snack ideas are a few almonds and fruit, carrots and a tablespoon of peanut butter, or whole grain crackers and cheese.  Make healthy snacks even more convenient than the junk food that you were used to by keeping almonds, fruit, and whole food bars in your desk at work or purse.  That will save you the trip to the vending machine.  Find healthy snacks that you enjoy so that it is easier to pass up the goodies around you. 

Planning healthy meals and snacks will help you stay satisfied so that you can say no to the junk food around you.  But the most important planning that you will make is to plan what you will choose to eat.  Often we find ourselves eating something simply because it is there.  When we see doughnuts in the break room or cookies offered at an unexpected place, we often eat them without thinking.  Decide ahead of time what you will and will not eat.  Don’t let your circumstances decide for you.  When eating out in a restaurant choose a healthy option.  Fortunately most restaurants offer healthier options.  Make a habit of choosing the healthiest option you have where ever you are.  You cannot always choose what type of food is around you, but you can always choose what food you put in your mouth.  Plan ahead so that it is easier to stick to your new healthy habits, and know that it may be difficult at first.  But as you begin to feel and see the results in your body, you will know that it is worth the sacrifice.