Many people, including me, believe that eating well is at the core of a full, healthy and happy life. But these days it’s a lot more challenging to eat well due to the fact that processed and chemical-laden foods are rife. These types of food are thought to be big contributors to many health problems, including obesity and diabetes.
However, it seems as if things are beginning to change, and there is a gradual movement away from highly processed foods towards a cleaner and more natural way of eating. If you are convinced of the physical and mental benefits that come with eating well, here is how you can be a healthier you, starting today!
Do it yourself
As far as possible, try to make your meals yourself from scratch. This way you can control exactly what goes into them. It also means you can add more of the good stuff to each meal and reduce the less healthy elements.
Look at the labels
Whenever you are buying items from the shops, check the labels before putting them in your basket. The longer the list of ingredients, the more processed it is. Think about it, a banana comes with no label because the only ingredient is the banana itself. Whereas a banana milkshake may have artificial colorings, flavorings, stabilizers and lots of fat and sugar. When it comes to labels, less is more!
Wean yourself of unhealthy ingredients
If you are accustomed to eating sweet treats, going cold turkey might only make your body and mind unhappy, and therefore you are more likely to give in to temptation. Instead, try gradually reducing your intake. For example, you could start by having one and a half sugars instead of two in your coffee or tea. Then take this to down to one sugar, and so on. It might sound like a challenge, but your taste buds will adjust in time.
Create balance
When it comes to eating healthy, it’s all about achieving a good balance between healthy ingredients. If you want to lose weight, HCG diet plan kits are a good choice as they promote healthy eating. Diets that require only cereal or cabbage soup to be eaten for weeks will deprive you of the many vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your body needs to stay fit and healthy. They cannot be considered balanced.
Make healthy swaps
Swap white pasta, bread and rice for whole grain varieties. Not only are they better for you, but they also fill you up for longer. Exchange milk or white chocolate for dark chocolate for a healthier but just as satisfying treat. There are many, many more healthy swaps that you can learn about and introduce into your diet for a cleaner, more enjoyable result.
It should be noted that whenever you are making adjustments to your diet that you take it slowly. Your body will be shocked if you do too much at once. It’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor before making any big changes.
I hope you find this information helpful for cleaning up your diet. Thank you for reading. Be happy and healthy!
Totally agree. I’m taking an online nutrition class and we had a case study where a 46 yr old male had a terrible diet. The instructors answer was a complete diet over haul and I didn’t agree because I would recommend small changes (cut out a mid morning danish, for an apple and cheese stick for example) and make healthy swaps (wheat for white toast) instead of a complete diet over haul. The class is still interesting, but I just didn’t agree with the case study outcome 😛
Monica
that class *does* sound interesting…will you blog about it?