Eating healthy can be tough. Unless you have money for a personal chef, or enviable genes, eating nutritiously takes more effort than most people’s schedules can handle. But in this time of fast pace and junk food, diseases like diabetes and obesity are on the rise. Prioritizing your health is a must, no matter how fast your lifestyle. Here are some tips on how to make small changes to your diet that make a huge difference.
1. Eat Breakfast
Its no secret that eating breakfast not only fuels you for the day, but also jumpstarts your metabolism. Donuts should not be breakfast candidate. Have some pancakes and swap the syrup for some blueberries or strawberries on top. Go for toast with peanut butter and an apple. Apples have just enough fiber to regulate your system and are low in cholesterol and sodium. Replace your white bread with wheat and your coffee with green tea. Try to avoid anything packaged that claims to be low fat or for diets. The truth is fresh foods are always the best, so stay away from frozen breakfast pockets or breakfast bars. These are usually filled with preservatives and sugars you don’t need.
2. Don’t Eat Out, Pack a Lunch
The lunch hour is your hour of freedom to break away and eat. While you should get out of the office and stretch your legs, avoid buying fast food. You’ll end up spending money and gaining tons of calories, depending on your selection. Pack a lunch. Fill your boring sandwich up with alfalfa sprouts, replace your iceberg lettuce with spinach, and load up on the tomatoes and cucumbers. Buy your meats from the market deli, instead of in a package. You can even bring dinner leftovers. Replace your soda for water or iced tea, and do not believe for a second that a diet soda is safe because its loaded with sugars. Your best bet at being “bad” for lunch should be ordering a grilled chicken and vegetable-filled fast lunch with a mini can of soda. If you must eat fast, be conscious of your goal and don’t order fried, hormone filled food. Plus, if you pack a lunch, you’ll have the rest of your lunch hour to walk around and get some exercise in. I bet others in the office will join you once they see your progress.
3. Snack on Nuts, Veggies, or Fruit
Having snacks handy and ready to go is smart. When I go shopping, I tend to get hungry. Instead of stopping by Mrs. Fields or the pretzel stand, I reach into my purse and snack on the raw almonds I brought. If I have access to a refrigerator, I like to have some apple slices or strawberries waiting for me. Of course this won’t always be an easy one, but plan for it when you can. It’s these small choices that make the biggest difference.
4. Don’t Eat Late at Night, Especially Carbs
I know, it’s tough to not sneak in a late night snack. Snacks this late are energy that will not burn quickly enough while you rest, so will turn into fats. If you do snack, however, snack on a raw vegetable like carrots or snow peas. Limit your carb intake to not go past a certain hour. Carbs turn into sugars, and if not burned, turn into fat. Your best bet is to drink water instead of eating or drinking chamomile tea or another tea without caffeine.
5. Produce, Produce, Produce, no Frozen or Canned Foods
While frozen vegetables are probably better than no vegetables, keep in mind that with every process of cooking produce (and meats), you lose more of the nutrients it began with. This is why raw vegetables are healthier than cooked vegetables. Boiling a potato for instance, takes the nutrients out of the potato itself, releasing it into the water. So unless you’re making a soup from the water, the potato itself is mostly depleted of its nutrition.
6. Make Dinner
This is probably the most challenging tip of all if you don’t have the time or cooking confidence, but start with what you know. If you only know how to grill steaks, add some mushrooms and onions on top. Make sides out of diced squash or asparagus. If you have a slow cooker/crock pot, make a roast or a soup. This will be cooking while you are at work and will be ready when you come home. Make sure to add tons of vegetables. Leftovers can be lunch the next day. Once again, stay away from frozen dinners or dinners in a bag, they’re loaded with saturated fats, preservatives, and sodium.
7. Put the dressing on the side
Salads are great for you, but you could be weighing down the meal if you’re dousing your greens in dressing. Oftentimes you put so much dressing on top, you don’t’ realize how much you’ve put on. If you want each bite of your salad or vegetables to taste like your dressing, then put it on the side. This way you can track how much dressing you have. Another suggestion is topping it with salsa. This will flavor your salad without fat and more vegetables.
8. Limit or lose the Unnecessary
I love salt; do I need it to make my meal enjoyable? Chances are not. Instead, I’ll sprinkle pepper on it and maybe a little non-spicy curry powder. Garlic is also a flavorful add. Ever try an open-faced sandwich? This cuts your bread intake by one whole slice. Swap your sweet tooth for some fruit (without extra sugar).
9. Divide Meals in Half, and Cravings by the Spoonful
If you’re a hearty eater who wants to lose weight, then cut your normal helpings in half. This takes the most self-control but pays off tremendously. I’m not asking you to starve yourself, if you’re eating at a slow, non-scarfing pace, your body will let you know when it is satisfied, not necessarily full. Once satisfied, put the other half away where you won’t be tempted to pick or eat it. By cheating this system, you ultimately cheat your trust in yourself and will make it harder the next time. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, keep desserts away, and if you absolutely need a fix, do not take more than a forkful or spoonful. The idea of dessert is the taste, not to stuff yourself with it.
These tips will keep your diet consistent and will not deprive you of anything but excess fats. Small changes put together make huge differences, and that goes for eating as well as exercising. Though this article is not filled with exercise tips, keep in mind that when you’re feeling lazy or ‘too tired’ to cook or prepare your meals, you’re actually moving and exercising somewhat in the process. Take time to invest in your health like you do for your other daily activities. Ultimately, you will need this before any success you’re going after.
