Deciding to eat healthily is only half the battle. You may find yourself focused on the type of food you are consuming. The food you eat is important, but you also need to focus on healthy eating habits. Changing the way you view food will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Moderation
Everything in moderation is a common saying that is hard to do. If you love a type of food, moderation can be hard. Creating and maintaining healthy eating habits isn’t just about cutting out certain foods. You can eat what you like, don’t overdo it.
Fruits and Vegetables
Eat your fruits and vegetables. If you are used to just throwing meals together, you may not notice how many of your meals don’t contain any vegetables. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is important because they have fewer calories, more fiber, and are full of the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. For a healthy diet, eat at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit a day.
Limit Processed Foods
Processed food can still be part of your diet, but you should limit how much you eat. Processed foods are high in sugar, calories, and salt. When you eat more whole foods, you feel better. At the grocery store, shop around the perimeter first. Doing this will help you skip the snack aisles and focus on the more fresh, whole foods. You don’t have to cut out processed foods completely, but again, everything is in moderation.
Use a Program
Taking the time to commit to a program is admirable. The great thing about something like 80bites is that you are not alone in your desire, drive, and journey to become happy and create healthy habits. Programs can seem daunting at first, but just know that they are here to help you understand more about what you eat rather than just the quantity and how often.
Water!
You need water to live, but many people don’t enjoy drinking it. Drinking a glass of water can help you discern whether you are hungry or just thirsty. It will also help you feel full and eat less. Drinking a glass of room temperature water in the morning can help with digestion.
Food Prep
Food prep is a great way to plan your meals for the week. You can plan and prep your meals on Sundays or make a weekly grocery list and only buy the things on the list. It does not have to take you hours to complete. Even if you only do two or three meals for the week, this can make all the difference.
Be Kind
If you slip up and eat something you feel you shouldn’t don’t beat yourself up. So what you ate a cookie or five. Was it good? Did you enjoy them? Good. Consistently try to make better choices, and it will get easier.
Maintaining healthy eating habits can be hard at first. But will be life-changing once you commit to it and are consistently trying to change. With time it will get easier. Remember that all you need to do is improve a little each day. 1% improvement each day will bring exponential results with time. All you have to do is start.
Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @RachelleWilber; https://www.facebook.com/people/Rachelle-Wilber/100009221637700/