Everyone’s talking about healthy eating these days but very few people have the answers that you’re looking for. In this post, we’re going to give you a no-nonsense approach to how you can start adjusting to healthier eating habits one day at a time instead of trying and failing. It’s all about developing small and sustainable habits, so here’s some advice to get you started.
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Understanding what’s healthy
First, get a better understanding of what’s healthy and what isn’t. This sounds really obvious to some people but the reality is that a lot of us don’t really know what is and isn’t good for us. Simply looking at ready meals that say “healthy” or “low-calorie” doesn’t mean you can eat as much of them as you want. Similarly, you can’t just chug diet soda and expect to lose weight. Healthy eating is an involved process and you need to do a bit of research in order to understand what it is you’re putting into your body and how you can make better decisions when it comes to food. Don’t underestimate the importance of doing your research!
Learning healthier recipes
You might also want to learn some healthier recipes so that you can accommodate your new eating habits. Cooking at home is extremely important when you want to eat healthy because you know exactly what you’re putting in your food. A lot of people assume that healthy eating means that you won’t be able to enjoy your favourite meals, but that’s simply not true. For example, instead of fried chicken from your favourite fast food place, you could try an air fryer breaded chicken breast recipe. This is a great alternative that gives you the same fried chicken texture and flavour without all of the calories and unwanted fats. It’s the perfect way to enjoy the meals you love but with a much healthier twist that you can get accustomed to. There’s also nothing wrong with having a cheat day in the week so that you can enjoy the food that you love now and then, even if it’s unhealthy!
Trying different kinds of food
If you want to open yourself up to healthier eating habits then you need to be willing to try different kinds of food. You might find that some foods and dishes that you weren’t too interested in before could actually be really tasty, especially if prepared and seasoned correctly. Be more adventurous with your eating habits and try not to stick to the same things all the time.
Replacing unhealthy ingredients
Another great way to adopt healthier eating habits is to start learning about alternatives to unhealthy ingredients. A great place to start here would be looking for sugar substitutes so that you have something to replace the sugar in your tea and desserts with something that has fewer calories but the same great taste. There are plenty of great substitutes out there, but it’s important not to overlook the importance of examining those substitutes for potentially bad ingredients. Just because something says it’s a great substitute, it doesn’t mean that you should always add it to your meals. Once again, we can’t stress the importance of researching what you put in your food!
Reducing your portion sizes
Instead of changing all of the ingredients in your food, it might help to just reduce the size of your portions if you want to eat more healthily. There are loads of foods that you can enjoy in moderation but we tend to overload our plate with these, turning it into an unhealthy meal. We should be more willing to change the balance of the food on our plate too. For instance, you could add a few more vegetables to your plate instead of just meat, and you can reduce carbs by cutting down on how much rice and pasta you eat and filling your plate with protein instead.
Having the motivation to maintain your habits
Switching over to healthy eating habits isn’t easy. It requires you to have the motivation and the right tools and knowledge at your disposal. But how exactly do you maintain this motivation? The first thing to do is ask yourself why you want to eat more healthily. Is it because of your weight? Is it because of health-related issues? Or do you just want to build healthier habits to eventually pass them down to your kids? There are loads of great reasons to switch to healthier eating habits and it’s important to remind yourself why you’re doing it.