Many times we associate losing weight with the need for popular crash diets and overly strict meal plans where we are forced to deny ourselves little pleasures. If losing weight is your goal, you don’t need to be extreme in your methods. Change your eating habits gently and over time to help keep you on track and happy throughout the process. For some people, eating healthy may seem daunting or totally impossible. If you simplify the process, and start at the beginning by taking a personal inventory of your kitchen, you’ll soon find out how easy it really can be. Here are some helpful tips to get you started on your journey towards healthy eating habits:
CLEAN OUT THE KITCHEN - First and foremost, you’ll need to clear out all the junk food currently taking up residence in your pantry. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it so get to cleaning out that candy and chip cabinet pronto and remove all the soda while you’re at it! You need to be conscious of the type of foods you consume and the easiest way to do that is by removing all the temptations. The typical food craving only lasts about 3 minutes, by arming yourself with a clean pantry / refrigerator, that craving will pass well before you can get your shoes on to head to the store.
EAT AT HOME - Consider eating / cooking at home more often. Preparing meals at home is the best way to ensure your meals are prepared healthfully. Oftentimes restaurants use excess in portion size and unhealthy ingredients you want to generally avoid whenever possible. If you are concerned about time during the workweek, consider prepping meals for the entire week on the weekends and simply popping the prepped meals into the oven each day as needed. As another time saver, you may opt to make larger quantities of certain meals and eat them over a multi-day period.
EAT VEGETABLES – Vegetables are low in calories and fats but provide a great source of nutrients and minerals vital for health and may even reduce the risk of stroke, cancer, heart disease and type-2 diabetes. Though not all vegetables are created equal, all are good for you, and in some cases like broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and garlic (yum!) they are considered “Superfoods.” Make it an adventure! With so many different varieties of vegetables all vying for your attention, make it a point to try something new; you may find a new favorite to add to your diet!
EAT SLOWLY, CHEW MORE -. We’ve all heard for a healthy digestion, you need to chew at least 30 times per bite, but ever wonder why? Slowly eating helps your body absorb more nutrition and gain energy more efficiently. The more you chew, the longer it will take you to finish your entire meal. While eating slowly, your brain will start to receive signals that you are feeling full well before you finish eating the entire meal. When you chew longer, your food gets smaller making it easier to digest and allows the saliva, which contains digestive enzymes, to better break down your food. As an added benefit, chewing more helps workout and strengthen your teeth. Still need to be convinced? Less chewed foods have a terrible habit of entering into the intestines in chunks, which cause bacteria, and bacteria gives you gas and bloating. That makes me a believer!
REDUCE SALT & SUGAR – While removing salt and sugar completely from your daily diet is not warranted, most of us can benefit from a great reduction in both, albeit gradually. Salt makes you hold excess water in your body, which results in higher blood pressure and that leads to a myriad of serious health concerns. Excess salt may also lessen the efficacy of some medications and leads to bloating and discomfort. Steer clear of table salt and consider making the switch to sea salt or Himalayan salt – the purest form of sea salt. Both are a rich source of 60+ trace minerals and are known to support weight loss, detox and to help balance hormones.
Meanwhile, sugar alone contains no nutrients, no protein, no healthy fats and no enzymes and is just empty and quickly digested calories, which end up pulling important minerals from the body during its digestion. To make matters worse, it creates an almost immediate need for the body to encourage more consumption of sugar. So what about that morning cup of coffee? Personally I find it difficult to drink without adding a little sweetness, but instead of opting for straight sugar or worse, artificial sweeteners, which have known dangerous chemicals in them, use natural sweeteners such as agave, maple syrup, molasses, honey or stevia. Read labels and try to avoid purchases containing corn syrup, high fructose syrup, sucralose, aspartame, saccharin and Splenda. I live by the saying, “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it!”
DRINK WATER – Water is truly the beverage choice of Gods! No other beverage can match the benefits of this clear liquid gold. Drinking water helps maintain the balance of body fluids, giving drinkers a sense of fullness, which helps control calorie intake, all while energizing muscles. Even more internal benefits include assisting your kidneys and bowels to function more efficiently while externally, water helps make your skin look clear and bright. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a beautiful bride on her wedding day! Speaking of recipes, if bloating after water consumption is a concern for you, consider these helpful water infusion recipes All are easily prepared and help reduce that dreaded bloat! Try a new recipe each day or stick to a tried and true favorite!
WATER INFUSION RECIPES
These recipes are best when prepared the night before and are ready to consume the next morning. If you drink a lot of water during the day, you can refill your pitcher throughout the same day with additional water, without having to add more fruit:
1- slice one cucumber, one lemon and a hand full of fresh mint in a pitcher and top with water
2- slice pineapples and lemons in a pitcher and top with water
3- slice 6 strawberries, add some blackberries and blueberries in a pitcher and top with water
MODERATION IS KEY – The key to success when implementing a healthy diet plan is moderation. It’s never recommended to stop eating and drinking all the naughty foods and beverages in one day! Take it slow and reduce by a little bit each day. Your body will soon learn to adjust and crave less of the bad stuff. Before you know it, you’ll start to automatically leave the sugars, fats and salts behind while craving the whole foods, fruits and vegetables your body truly needs. Now that’s a healthy habit!
CREDITS
Article written by: Oncu Angie Tuzuner