Many of you may have heard the term, �You are what you eat�. What you eat has an impact on your health and will continue to do so in the future as well. A balanced diet play a major role in defining the type of lifestyle you live. Proper nutrition combined with regular physical activities can prevent major diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, control your blood pressure and even prolong your live by a couple of years.
But, eating right is a habit that is particularly hard in today�s world. With so much variations of food going around, it is hard to resist the temptation to avoid it. Maintaining a balanced diet shouldn�t be as hard as many people think it is. All you need to do is start by making small changes into the day-to-day eating habits. Here are a few tips to get you started on your journey to a healthy lifestyle.
Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
Choose red, orange, and dark-green vegetables along with other vegetables for your meals. Add fruit to meals as part of main or side dishes or as dessert. The more colorful you make your plate; the more likely you are to get the vitamins, minerals, and fiber your body needs to be healthy. Vegetables and fruits are most likely to contain abundant vitamins and minerals to keep our body running smoothly. These fruits and veggies also help maintain the balance in your blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure.
Try to use fresh ingredients whenever possible as vegetables and fruits lose their effectiveness over time. Just make sure that you get your produce from a trusty and reliable vendor. If you can, grow them at your own home to ensure its quality.
Keep Healthy Food At The Ready
It is only natural for us to get hungry at odd times and snack on our favorite foods. While at home or at the workplace try to keep healthy foods like carrots and cucumbers in the refrigerator. Learn to control your dependence on sugary treats or a packet of chips. Opt for dry fruits and nuts like almonds and walnuts. Dry fruits contain plenty of fiber and other essential nutrients to keep you healthy and curb your hunger.
Since much of our lives revolve around a busy schedule, prepare your meals well in advance to avoid ordering in meals from your favorite restaurants. Prepping meals are a great way to ensure that you are eating healthy while at the same time keeping all the unwanted foods at bay. If you eat out, try to go for baked or grilled food and avoid fried items. Try to follow the same at home too.
Control Your Sugar, Fat and Salt
It is hard to avoid some kind of fat, sugar and salt in some form. If you have to eat some form of sugar, fat and salt, do so early in the afternoon or evening. Avoid consuming these late in the evening as it takes longer for the body to digest. Especially avoid eating sugary food and fatty food a few hours before bed time since the body will end up storing all those carbs and you�ll end up gaining weight over time.
When you�re cooking the food yourself, reduce amounts of salt added to food when cooking and use herbs and spices instead to add flavor like paprika, turmeric, black pepper, and garlic or onion powder.
Obviously fat is a healthy part of our diet, but identifying which kind of fat is important in this scenario. Avoid foods with high content of saturated fats and trans fat and instead opt for foods with healthy fats such as cheese, avocado, fish, etc. Identify foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as these lower disease risks in the long run.
Control Portion Sizes
Sometimes when we�re feeling extremely hungry, we tend to overeat and stay full for longer periods of time. To avoid this, before every meal drink a glass of water so as to fill your stomach with it and avoid eating a lot. This is a very well-known trick followed by those who are trying to moderate the amount of food they eat.
When preparing meals at home, use smaller plates so you trick your mind into thinking the amount you�ve served is enough. Portion sizes depend on the age, gender, and activity level of the individual but once you�ve formed the habit of eating smaller portions, the idea of a large portion will not be tempting as before.
Also, try eating breakfast everyday so you don�t feel hungry very early in the day and go overboard to compensate for skipping breakfast.
Making changes to your dietary habits will take time as it is not something that can be changed drastically overnight. If you�re someone who is trying to lose weight, you may think that not eating is the best way to go. You may lose a bit of weight in the short term but you�ll eventually face problems in the future.
The best way to form a healthy eating habit is to reflect, replace and reinforce. Try to reflect on all your eating habits, good and bad. Figure out what triggers your unhealthy eating habits and make changes.
Once you�ve figured out what triggers your unhealthy eating habits, replace the unhealthy snacks with healthier ones. Not only will your mind be at ease, but your body as well.
The last step is staying on the right track. Reinforce the healthy eating habits that you�ve formed and keep following it. It will become hard and urges to eat unhealthy food will become more frequent. If it is completely unavoidable, eating your favorite unhealthy food in moderation can be good for you mentally and help you to stay focused on eating healthy.
Prepared using various sources.
Try to use fresh ingredients whenever possible as vegetables and fruits lose their effectiveness over time. Just make sure that you get your produce from a trusty and reliable vendor. If you can, grow them at your own home to ensure its quality.
Keep Healthy Food At The Ready
It is only natural for us to get hungry at odd times and snack on our favorite foods. While at home or at the workplace try to keep healthy foods like carrots and cucumbers in the refrigerator. Learn to control your dependence on sugary treats or a packet of chips. Opt for dry fruits and nuts like almonds and walnuts. Dry fruits contain plenty of fiber and other essential nutrients to keep you healthy and curb your hunger.
Since much of our lives revolve around a busy schedule, prepare your meals well in advance to avoid ordering in meals from your favorite restaurants. Prepping meals are a great way to ensure that you are eating healthy while at the same time keeping all the unwanted foods at bay. If you eat out, try to go for baked or grilled food and avoid fried items. Try to follow the same at home too.
Control Your Sugar, Fat and Salt
It is hard to avoid some kind of fat, sugar and salt in some form. If you have to eat some form of sugar, fat and salt, do so early in the afternoon or evening. Avoid consuming these late in the evening as it takes longer for the body to digest. Especially avoid eating sugary food and fatty food a few hours before bed time since the body will end up storing all those carbs and you�ll end up gaining weight over time.
When you�re cooking the food yourself, reduce amounts of salt added to food when cooking and use herbs and spices instead to add flavor like paprika, turmeric, black pepper, and garlic or onion powder.
Obviously fat is a healthy part of our diet, but identifying which kind of fat is important in this scenario. Avoid foods with high content of saturated fats and trans fat and instead opt for foods with healthy fats such as cheese, avocado, fish, etc. Identify foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as these lower disease risks in the long run.
Control Portion Sizes
Sometimes when we�re feeling extremely hungry, we tend to overeat and stay full for longer periods of time. To avoid this, before every meal drink a glass of water so as to fill your stomach with it and avoid eating a lot. This is a very well-known trick followed by those who are trying to moderate the amount of food they eat.
When preparing meals at home, use smaller plates so you trick your mind into thinking the amount you�ve served is enough. Portion sizes depend on the age, gender, and activity level of the individual but once you�ve formed the habit of eating smaller portions, the idea of a large portion will not be tempting as before.
Also, try eating breakfast everyday so you don�t feel hungry very early in the day and go overboard to compensate for skipping breakfast.
Making changes to your dietary habits will take time as it is not something that can be changed drastically overnight. If you�re someone who is trying to lose weight, you may think that not eating is the best way to go. You may lose a bit of weight in the short term but you�ll eventually face problems in the future.
The best way to form a healthy eating habit is to reflect, replace and reinforce. Try to reflect on all your eating habits, good and bad. Figure out what triggers your unhealthy eating habits and make changes.
Once you�ve figured out what triggers your unhealthy eating habits, replace the unhealthy snacks with healthier ones. Not only will your mind be at ease, but your body as well.
The last step is staying on the right track. Reinforce the healthy eating habits that you�ve formed and keep following it. It will become hard and urges to eat unhealthy food will become more frequent. If it is completely unavoidable, eating your favorite unhealthy food in moderation can be good for you mentally and help you to stay focused on eating healthy.
Prepared using various sources.
