Although the pace of life in today’s society favors making quick food choices over healthy ones, there are still ways to improve your diet without sacrificing valuable time. Eating a healthier diet has many benefits, with the most important to me being the general uplift in mood that it brings. You will no doubt have your own reasons for trying to eat a healthier diet, but if you’re struggling to find a starting point then look no further.
Start with Whole Grains
Simply swapping out the type of grains you consume is a good method to start with. For example, instead of making your sandwiches with white bread, try and get some multi-grain bread. You don’t have to go hardcore and start only buying Ezekiel bread, just try and pick something that is either wheat or multi-grain.
Try Replacing processed foods with whole fruits and vegetables
Next time you’re out doing your food shopping, take a moment and think of ways you can sub out processed food with its natural alternative. Take apple sauce, a treat that many of us enjoy on a daily basis. Instead of buying apple sauce, why not pick out a couple of apples for the week? They make a good crispy snack that can give you a good source of fiber with the added benefit of helping to clean your teeth.
Drink more water
This one seems pretty obvious, but unfortunately many are not getting the water that they need for the day. Use an online water calculator to determine how much H2O is appropriate for your height/weight and go from there. Get a nice water bottle (I prefer stainless steel but go with whatever makes you happy) and drink enough to keep yourself hydrated. It’s crazy that in my experience just getting enough water for the day can make a whole word of difference in how I feel.
Drop the Soda
Yes, this is the tough part. Don’t worry though, you can slowly start tapering if you are not comfortable with dropping the bubbly beverage immediately. In fact, you can make quitting even easier by getting some sparkling water. I recently did this and found that the brand Bubly, which comes in a can, pretty much captured the essence of soda without the sugar or other things found in soda. Another easy way to drop the soda habit is to sub fruit juice in its place. Be careful with this though, as some fruit juices can have added sugar.
Look into healthy snacks
Almonds, pistachios, packaged fruit, etc. You’ve heard it all before. But the fact is a good deal of your packaged snacks can be substituted with something healthier. Don’t want to buy a bunch of individually packaged snacks? Buy a bunch of some snack like almonds and pre-package them yourself for the week.
Start macro tracking
Begin using an app like MyFitnessPal or Cronometer to start tracking your macronutrients for the day. Macros include the big 3, Protein, Fats and Carbohydrates. This move can really be a pivotal one for someone who is new to calorie tracking. Not only can you see your total calories for the day, but you can track where those calories are coming from and adjust accordingly
Slow down when eating
I know I was surprised by how effective just slowing down my eating pace was. I began chewing my food longer and trying not to scarf down my food and had an interesting experience. Deliberately slowing down my meal consumption led to me getting full halfway through the meal. This may not work for everyone but it led to me adjusting my portions.
Plan your grocery trip
Make a list of exactly what you need from the store for the week/day or however you plan your schedule. This simple but overlooked tip can make it easy to start eating healthier. Maybe you’ve had an experience where you go to grocery store without a list and buy all kinds of random things. If you plan out a list it gives you the advantage of having a clear goal and avoiding these random purchases.
While you undergo this journey, the most important thing is not to beat yourself up if you don’t succeed at first. Changing your health is not always super simple, and the speed of progress can vary greatly from person to person. The most important thing is that you are trying to do something better for yourself.