You’ve probably heard from your Mum and friends that eating more healthy fruit and veg is good for you, but you may not know why. Follow our top ten tips to get smarter about how you eat every day.
If you’re trying to eat more healthily and take better care of your body, it’s important to create a good foundation for your diet that you can build upon. The biggest mistake many people make when trying to eat healthily is they change too much at once. The easiest way to start eating healthier is by making small, gradual changes in your diet.
Start With Breakfast: Should We Care About What We Eat?
The advice always seems to be the same – breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
While I’m not sure why anyone would choose dinner like a pauper (maybe the post-meal snacks could be better?), the reason behind having three balanced meals is that food is digested at different rates.
By having small amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber at frequent intervals you are keeping your metabolism active during the day.
Why Eating Regular Meals Matters
At times it can be hard to eat a well-balanced diet. Especially when you’re always pressed for time and hungry at work/university.
It’s even worse when you don’t have a kitchen available (only microwaves). You end up tempting yourself in the cafeteria or buying junk food from the vending machine. This is not good for your waistline or health.
Taking lunch from home or having a snack before leaving home helps you stay away from the less healthy options, which means you’ll have more energy and productivity throughout your day.
Would You Rather Have A Smarter Snack?
Snacking is fine – as long as you’re eating the right kind of food. And if you can, it’s best to make sure you’re not hungry between meals.
Think about it – would it be sensible to eat a whole packet of biscuits (about 500 calories), when you could have three Weetabix (about 180 calories)?
Mindfulness Guide to Healthy Nutrition
So how can you make sure you eat only when you’re hungry? Start by recognizing that it is completely normal for your stomach to tell your brain that you’ve had enough food.
If you eat lunch while working, reading, or watching TV, it is easy to forget that you have already eaten and keep eating well beyond your stomach’s ability to recognize this fact. Creating a few changes in your daily routine will help you eat more mindfully and avoid overeating.
Portion Control Is Everything!
Do you know what a portion size is? A true portion takes up space on your plate: it’s too much to fit into your mouth in one go, so you have to chew it. Portion sizes are important because they can stop you from eating too many calories and as a result, you’ll keep healthy body weight.
Why You Should Think About What You Drink
6-8 cups of fluid each day keeps your body hydrated and healthy. Water is the best choice because it is free, healthy, and good for the environment. Sugar is okay in small doses, but if you need sugar, you can use non-caloric artificial sweeteners instead of sugar.
There are lots of different types of delicious food and drink, but there’s no point in choosing the healthiest option if you eat a huge portion. If you want to lose weight, it’s all about the balance of how many calories you put into your body against how much energy you use up during the day.
Reasons Vegetables Are The Best Thing Ever
Fill up on vegetables, fruit, and other starchy foods. That’s my motto. A diet rich in a wide variety of whole-grain foods, including whole grains is emphasized. The aim is to provide a gradual transition over time to eat an increased amount of whole-grain foods and a decreased amount of refined carbohydrate-containing foods, fats, and oils.
A healthy low GI diet should also be high in vegetables (especially non-starchy vegetables) as well as whole grains in the form of bread and cereals. This is the base of my diet–I make sure I eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables every day. It’s important to include a variety of different colored fruit and veggies in your diet. Eating lots of colorful fruit or veggies is good for you because you get more vitamins and minerals from these healthy foods. Eat five serves each day for a healthier life!
Why Whole Grains Are Good For You
Whole grains are considered a nutrition source of low-GI carbohydrates. They’re higher in fiber than refined carbohydrates that have been stripped of their natural goodness, making them a great food to munch on in your morning and afternoon snacks.
However, whole grains won’t be reduced to the level of simple sugars, so you still shouldn’t consume them in large amounts.
How To Cut Back On The Fat
It’s a difficult fact to accept, but one that we all have to live with: we’re fatter than ever. 34% of Australian adults are obese and over half of us aren’t doing enough exercise.
It’s also a little secret that those who are overweight are at far greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The solution is to eat less fat and shop for the right fats.
Creative Ways To Replace Salt In Your Meal
Salt consumption is linked to being a major factor in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. This can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. Salt is not natural food.
It makes our food taste good, but it’s also an essential tool to kill bacteria and microbes. I’ve been trying to cut down on adding salt to my food. I made a list of common foods and beverages you can add instead of salt.
Conclusion
Changing your diet can be hard for a lot of different reasons. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the choices you have to make, or discouraged by the many sugary, fatty foods available. But, if you break it down into small pieces, it seems much less daunting. By focusing on eating just one healthy food at a time and building your new diet on that foundation, the healthier lifestyle you’ve always wanted can become an achievable goal.
