Healthy eating is one of the things that many people struggle with. You may start eating healthy but then relapse after a short while. This might be due to a lack of motivation and the development of a good healthy eating plan. They say it takes 21 days to break a habit and if you have a few unhealthy eating habits this may seem like a struggle.
Above all take one step at a time and do not overwhelm yourself. You will soon start to see and feel the benefit of eating healthy
Let’s take a look at some ideas of how to start making healthy eating a habit.
1. Healthy eating starts by getting in balance
While working on your healthy eating plan, it is essential that you start to get a balance. It is recommended that should include 45% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 25% healthy fats. Healthy sources of fat include fish, olive oil, nuts, and avocados. As you start to become more healthy living then really think about what you are eating for each meal and how balanced this is.
2. Avoid Artificial Foods
For healthy living, it is vital to stick to unprocessed foods like lean meats, fruits, nuts, whole grain pasta, low-fat-diary, and vegetables. The idea here is to ensure that you get the most nutrients without taking in too many calories. Avoid processed foods since they contain lots of junk. From fresh and unprocessed foods, you will get the nutrients that your body needs.
3. Think Green for a good healthy eating plan
While many people are still not aware of how to eat healthily, it is as simple as knowing what is good for you. Whenever you sit down to eat a meal, make sure that it contains a lot of vegetables such as kales, tomatoes, cabbages, and spinach. At least make sure that you consume vegetable once a day and you will reap the benefits of eating healthy. Also, vegetables are a real benefit of eating healthy. They will help you to stop eating a lot since they have lots of water and fibre and fill you up.
4. Maintaining your new healthy eating habit
So you have started to be more conscious of what you are eating and you are starting to develop some new habits. That is fantastic.
Habits are one of the hardest things to break, mainly when you are not used to healthy eating so this is not easy. It is especially difficult if you have been eating unhealthily for years,
At the start of each week review what you have achieved in the previous 7 days, then plan the next 7 days. After that, make sure to stick to it as much as you can. In case you are not familiar with how to eat healthily, it is advisable to seek help from an expert nutritionist.
5. What if I relapse?
There is nothing wrong with relapsing, as long as you recognise it, accept it and then move on. So many people break a healthy eating plan with a night out or a bar of chocolate and then think they will start again next week. Next week never comes! Just go back to the plan the next day – it was a blip and it doesn’t matter, you are not trying to achieve perfection.
It is so important to focus on the positives you have achieved and not just hone in on the odd relapse.
If you notice we do not talk about diet here, it is a healthy eating plan. It is something that ultimately you would like to change for the rest of your life. Well if that is the case you will relapse but the odd relapse by no means will destroy everything you have achieved thus far.
6. What are the challenges?
Whilst working on your health and fitness journey, there will be lots of challenges that you will have to overcome. They range from emotional to social challenges. You will be invited to a party and there maybe many unhealthy options to choose from. Your friends and loved ones may not be aware that you are focusing on how to eat healthy. And because you miss the sweet junk foods so much, you may consciously decide to eat some one day
These are the challenges that you will face more often than not. When this happens refocus and remember the conscious choice you made to a healthy living lifestyle. Think of the benefit of eating healthy and how it has made you feel on the days you are stronger.
7. Start Slowly and Work Toward your healthy eating Goal
It is better to start small and grow as you get stronger to overcome the urge to eat unhealthy foods.
To help you get what you want, make sure you know how to eat healthily, and practise healthy eating as regularly as you can. If you relapse, that is fine, but don’t let it undo all the good work you have achieved thus far.
8. The Final Thought
Healthy Living requires you to make conscious decisions and become focused. Once you have created a healthy eating plan, know that there is no going back.
Just remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Take it one day at a time and the fact you have made a conscious decision to start becoming healthier is a massive step forward. You need to take recognition of that.
There will be so many changes that happen gradually. You will lose weight, you will feel more alert, you will have less brain fog. It will become easier to jump out of bed in the morning. Your skin will be fresher. People will notice. You will want to start exercising. The list of healthy changes is endless.
Once you start to feel like this you will not want to revert to your previous unhealthy eating ways. The benefits of how you will start to feel will more than outweigh the craving for an unhealthy meal.
We love helping people to get healthier by showing them there are lots of delicious and simple to make healthy meals. Please go to our YouTube channel and check some of them out. If there is something specific you would like us to make then just drop us a line and we will add it to the list and let you know when it is ready for you to give it a go yourself.
