The advice about healthy eating is loud and sometimes contradictory! Thankfully, there are some secrets that hold steady across the board. If you are shifting into a healthier way of eating, keep these tips below in mind.
Pair Up Carbs With Proteins
Carbohydrates are what your body turns to first for fuel, and they burn up quick. While there are many different ways to approach a low-carb eating style, a way to manage carbs without cutting them is to pair their quick energy with the slow-burn energy of proteins.
Pair your apple up with cheese. Eat berries and walnuts together. You’ll keep your blood sugar levels steady and feel satiated longer than with quick carbs alone.
Be Willing To Try Something New
There are any number of ways to approach healthy eating, and what works for your friend may not work for you. Research is increasingly discovering that genetics, heredity, blood type, even where you live – all of these factors will affect how your body handles certain foods, even healthy ones!
What might be “gut-healing” to one may have the exact opposite effect to another. If you have spent years eating one way and are not seeing the health you desire, don’t waste your time beating the dead horse. Healthy ways of eating abound. Research and pick another one, and see how your body reacts!
Ease Budget Stress
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive, and there are many ways to make it fit any budget. When you aren’t stressed about the grocery bill, you’ll be more likely to stick to your eating plan!
Avoid pre packaged or convenience foods whenever possible, buying instead fresh or frozen produce that are both cheaper and more nutrient-dense.
Buy in bulk, either through bulk stores such as Costco or by joining a farm share community. Order pick-up if possible, to cut down on browsing and impulse purchases.
Consider using supplements. Nowadays because of competition, vitamins and supplements are generally more affordable the they once were.
Change Your Mindset
So much of changing habits is a mental game. Change your mindset around healthy eating by changing your words! “Diets” are restrictive, hard to stick to, and are meant to last only until a goal is reached.
A new “way of eating”, however, is exciting to learn, focuses on the foods you should eat rather than the foods you should limit, and suggests a more permanent turning over of a new leaf.
Similarly, try to avoid calling foods “good” or “bad”. Food is food. It is neutral. Instead, look at food in terms of fuel. Some food is simply better fuel than others.
Track Measurements and Non-Scale Victories
The number on the scale is subject to any number of variants, fluctuating upwards of five pounds on a daily basis. Weigh yourself as set intervals, and focus instead on other ways of measuring your health.
Blood pressure and lab work will show differences, if you get those numbers checked regularly. Measure your hips, arms, and waist every now and then and see how they change, even if the scale doesn’t budge.
Your clothing fit will tell you when changes are happening! How do you feel going up stairs? Is your seatbelt more comfortable? Are your rings fitting looser? All of these non-scale victories point towards an increase of health!
Summary
There are a number of ways to eat healthy. You’re probably already motivated to do it but actions speak louder than words. You got this!