Seven Tips for Healthy Eating
Healthy eating tips
We all don’t eat “how we should” one hundred percent of the time. I follow an 80/20 philosophy for the most part. Though some days it may even be 50/50, and I don’t regret that either. We all need to live and enjoy ourselves. Now that I have broken away from a highly processed food diet my body feels better, my mind is clearer, and I enjoy how that makes me feel so much more that I don’t even want a lot of those foods anymore. The days I'm 80/20 which is most days, these are things that help me eat what’s best for my body. Again this is what works for me. I'm not a nutritionist.
Meal prep, meal prep, meal prep. Should I say it one more time?! Meal prep! If you’re busy, like most of us are, having food prepared is the best way to go. That’s a pretty common concept. Some things are difficult to prep, like my beloved avocado. I have my salad or whatever it’s going on ready, cut the avocado in the morning and seal in a glass storage container to keep as fresh as possible. I also store in glass container in fridge to keep the rest ok to use. Have fruit and veggies cut up and ready. I typically do this two to three times a week. I like my stuff fresh, what can I say. I’m not one of those women who makes my entire week worth of meals on Sunday either. I like to plan my entire week of meals on Sundays (like I literally write it in my planner). I know which meals will have leftovers for our lunch the next day and which ones I will need to have a different lunch plan for. When there aren’t leftovers, I typically cook two meals and use the second for lunch for a couple days. Then I typically grocery shop for most items on Sunday (I save fish or steak for right as I’m about to make it. I’m picky like that.) So that typically results in two grocery store stops a week sometimes three depending on how efficient I am and what I plan. I can handle that. I used to go every day. OMGoodness!! Way too much.
I can’t be the only one who can be at work and suddenly you realize it’s 2 o’clock and you haven’t had lunch! If I’m really bad I’ll keep saying right after this I will eat, and then without fail 10 people will come by my office with various crisis and now it’s time to go home. That being said, schedule your eating times as best you can. Becoming ravenously hungry isn’t helpful for going home and not eating half a bag of the large bag of tortilla chips. If your work situation is anything like mine this can be difficult. I can normally still gauge a good time to squeeze my meal in.
So fresh and so clean clean. That’s my motto. Fresh fruit, veggies, some dairy, and some meat (I am particular and like organic/grassfed/wild). Keep favorites stocked and ready to go. I try to keep processed foods to a minimum. When I do buy them, I look for ingredients I know and clean/minimal as possible. Look at your labels. It’s surprising how many items claim to “be healthy”, and then you look at the label and it’s a different story. Also, just because it’s organic, doesn’t make it automatically good for you.
Forgive yourself. We don’t all eat perfect all the time. When you’re with friends and you want dessert, have it. We still need to enjoy life. It’s a gift meant to enjoy!
Don’t try to make a lot of changes all at once (if this does work for you then ignore). Many people struggle with changing multiple habits all at once, especially when it’s something more difficult. It’s not a race to get to where you want to be. It’s about building lifestyle choices and habits that allow you to live a healthier life. Swap a heavily processed food dinner for one with some fresh cooked veggies. Once you have that down, work on a healthier lunch. Add some fresh fruit as your snack. Cut down on soda until you’re able to eliminate it completely. It will take your body awhile to acclimate to detoxing off the sugar and processed foods it has grown accustomed to, but it will happen and become easier. I feel my taste and cravings for food have also changed with this.
Be open minded. Try new vegetables and fruits prepared different ways. Be willing to explore. You will find that there are still things you don’t like so much, but you will also find some things that you may surprisingly find you love! I love baking artichokes, who woulda thought?? I didn’t until I tried a couple of different recipes. I now love butternut squash because I was willing to be open minded. Sweet potato fries YUM! These are all adding vegetable into my diet in a healthy way. I like to get creative with salads too, tossing in some radish and pepitas.
