An unhealthy diet can impact your life and health in many different ways. Unhealthy foods often taste great, but have very little nutritional value and can lead to weight gain, a higher risk of serious disease, and more health problems such as muscle aches, fatigue, and trouble focusing. By making healthier changes to your diet, you will usually quickly begin to experience positive changes including having more energy, better sleep, weight loss, and feeling more alert. The good news is that eliminating unhealthy dietary choices and sticking to a healthier and more balanced diet can be easier than you might think. Here are some top tips to get you started.
Plan Meals in Advance
Planning your meals in advance can help you avoid those last-minute decisions to get takeout because you are hungry and aren’t sure what to cook, or don’t have any ingredients in. When you plan your meals in advance, you can easily fit this around your week ensuring that on your busy days, you have all the ingredients that you need to make something that is quick and easy to prepare, but also healthy and nutritious. If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for your meal plan or want to try something new, consider using a meal planning service where they plan all of your meals for you, providing you with new ideas to try and taking the pressure off.
Make Healthier Swaps
The good news is that reducing or eliminating unhealthy dietary choices from your life does not mean that you have to completely give up everything that you enjoy. Instead, swap to healthier alternatives. For example, if you eat meat, then opting for leaner cuts of meat such as chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, lean ground beef instead of regular and pork chops rather than pork belly, you can reduce your calorie intake and continue enjoying your favorite foods without the health impact. If you drink soda, switch to diet or sugar-free versions or enjoy sparkling water infused with fruit for a healthier alternative.
Track Your Calories
Tracking your calorie intake can be an ideal way to get a better idea of just how good for you the foods in your diet really are. Today there are lots of different calorie apps that are easy to use, allowing you to figure out how many calories are in what you’re eating by simply scanning the barcode on the packaging and adjusting your portion. Understanding the calorific value of the foods that you eat will make it easier for you to make healthier choices and become more informed about what you’re consuming.
Try Meat-Free Days
Meat is often a healthy source of protein; however, it is high in calories and fats and you certainly do not have to eat it at every meal for a balanced diet. More and more people are deciding to have at least one or two days of the week where they eat a vegetarian diet and reduce their overall meat intake. This can have health benefits along with being kinder to the planet and helping you save money. Just one or two days a week of eating a veggie diet can help you improve your vegetable intake and find new, plant-based protein sources to explore.
Stay Hydrated
Finally, make sure that you are staying hydrated as this will keep you fuller for longer and stave off cravings for sugar and carbs. Ideally, you should aim to drink around two liters of water per day. A lot of people also like to drink sparkling, mineral, or soda water as an alternative to plain water to stay hydrated.
If you’re not a fan of plain water, consider adding some of your favourite fruits to your water bottle, or try a cold herbal tea infusion. If you love your sodas could even get yourself a soda machine (plus a co2 refill or two) and turn your water into sparkling water. This also works great with fruit flavored water too, and gives you the closest thing to soda possible without many of the unhealthy elements of these drinks.
Changing up your diet to reduce unhealthy choices and bring more balance to the foods you consume can be easier than you think, with some simple habit changes.