If you do any amount of research into staying fit and healthy, you will undoubtedly find copious text relating to the fact that what we eat plays a huge role in our well-being. Everything from diets to help lose weight, to lists of healthy and not so healthy food can be found. No doubt for some, the reason they have not yet altered their eating habits to healthier ones is that the sheer number of available diets make their head spin trying to decide which one to pursue.
You will be pleased to know that in this article we are not going to outline or recommend any specific diet that we believe you should follow. For a start, every person reading this will have different dietary needs, so any single diet is not going to be suitable for all of them. Instead, what we are going to do is highlight a range of healthy eating habits, many of which can be incorporated into any specific diet you may be following, or at least compliment it in some way.
As with any advice relating to health and nutrition, before implementing it and changing your dietary habits it is advisable to check with your doctor to ensure that they are suitable for you, especially if you have a pre-existing health condition.
#1: Start With A Plan: Any diet or goal relating to your health has a better chance of success if you have a plan to achieve it so plan your meals and your food shopping carefully and sensibly well in advance, including meals out.
#2: Drink More Water: Did you know that 60% of your body is water? To remain healthy, drinking plenty of water is essential. Replace sugary drinks and some of your caffeine drinks with water, and if necessary flavour your water with natural, unsweetened fruit juices.
#3: When You Eat Out, Ask Questions: Everyone likes to eat out, and so they should but they normally choose from the menu without thinking about what their meal contains. Do not be shy about asking your waiter or even the chef, what ingredients are included.
#4: Reduce Your Intake Of Processed Foods: In truth, not every processed or packaged food is unhealthy, but much of it is, so this is one aspect of your diet that you should try to reduce, and instead have meals cooked with natural, fresh ingredients.
#5: Do Not Just Count Calories: There is a myth that dieting and eating healthily is all about counting calories, it is not. Eating 250 calories of full fat, sugary ice cream does little to improve your health, even if it seems less than 300 calories of fresh fruit and vegetables.
#6: Eat The Rainbow: Not the name of a heavy metal rock band, but instead a pointer towards the fact that the more colourful your meals are, with red, green, orange, yellow visible on your plate, the more chance there is that you are eating healthy ingredients such as grains, vegetables, and herbs.
#7: Slow Down When You Eat: Remember as a kid you would be told by your parents to “Hurry up, and eat your food”? Unfortunately, these words are something we take into adulthood and thus we tend to eat our food too quickly. When eating, slow down and you will soon find you need to eat less food to feel full.