Skip to main content

4 Habits to Help You Start (and Keep!) Eating Healthy

It’s a misconception that in order to clean up your diet and eat healthy, you have to make big, sweeping changes to your life.

Not true.

Even small changes or tweaks can make a big difference. Turn those small changes into daily habits and you’ll be on your way toward losing weight — and keeping it off.

To help you get started, here are 4 tips to help you start living your best (healthy) life from Ilana Muhlstein, M.S., R.D. and creator of the 2B Mindset nutrition program.

1. “Clean” Your Counters

It doesn’t matter how sensible I am as a dietitian, or how motivated a person is, what we see is what we’re going to eat.

I always say, “OOSOOM: out of sight, out of mind.” This is critical especially for homes where the kitchen acts as a hangout as well.

Clear your countertops of sliced bread, jars of cookies, bowls of candies, and boxes of cereal.

Replace them with things that can be helpful if you’re feeling hungry like boxes of cherry tomatoes (my daughter reaches into these daily for a quick snack) or a bowl of apples.

You should also have things out that keep you thinking about your healthy lifestyle — veggies that need cooking like spaghetti squash, turnips, and onions, or a Shakeology or smoothie station.

I do keep treats and sweets in the house for my family, but not the ones that tempt me most. I’m much more savvy about keeping everything in sight, in mind, that we do want to eat most.

2. Beware of the “Health Halo”

A “health halo” is when a food is perceived as healthy overall, when in fact, it may only have some healthy attributes.

For example, veggie burgers. Many people look at all plant-based burgers as healthy protein substitutes, yet many of them can be actually higher in carbohydrates and fat than protein.

Protein is important for helping you feel full and preventing overeating, yet many of these vegetarian patties have less than five grams of protein in them.

If you do buy veggie burgers as protein substitutes, make sure they contain at least 10 grams of protein (per burger).

3. Use My Dilution Technique

Basically, just take a generous portion of your favorite sauce, dressing, or marinade and dilute it.

You can use lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, salsa, or just a bit of water to amp up the volume and distribute it more evenly.

It loosens up the sauce so it actually coats the food better and you end up eating less, without even realizing it!

4. Stay Busy

While free time gets perceived as relaxing, it actually makes me feel anxious, which can lead to bad eating habits.

That’s why I always try to fill my schedule with things that make me feel productive, so I don’t find myself rummaging through the pantry for a lack of something to do.

Bottom Line

So, you can see that these strategies aren’t huge changes; they’re merely small adjustments to how you’re probably already living your life.

Start with just one healthy habit and then build on that by adding one more, and then one more after that until you’ve created a strong foundation for healthy eating — for life.



from Nutrition – The Beachbody Blog https://ift.tt/2vZN1nx
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Botched Circumcision Leads to Penis Amputation for Baby Boy

From  cord blood banking  to  baby naming ceremonies , parents of newborns have a bevy of key decisions to make when it comes to medical procedures and religious and/or cultural practices. For instance, as soon as a couple learns they're having a boy, they might find themselves grappling with the  decision to circumcise—or not . It's an individual, personal decision for every family. Thankfully, when parents opt in, most circumcisions go off without a hitch. However, a shocking story out of Egypt highlights one instance in which the routine procedure went terribly awry. A father from Cairo is speaking out after his son's  penis had to be amputated following a botched circumcision . The Jerusalem Post  reported that the father named Ashraf Helmi says he took his child to Cairo to be vaccinated and was convinced by his sister-in-law and a family friend to have his  1-month-old son Mohamed circumcised during the same doctor's visit. According to  Me...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reduce Acid-Forming Proteins to Protect Kidney Function

Chronic kidney disease is a major public health problem affecting about one in eight Americans, increasing the risks of disease and death even among those with only mild decreases in kidney function. Low-cost, low-risk preventive strategies that anyone can do are needed to address the epidemic of kidney disease. I discuss some of these in my video Protein Source: An Acid Test for Kidney Function . Diet plays a role in kidney function decline. “Specifically, diets higher in animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol” may be associated with protein leakage into the urine, which is a sign of kidney damage, and, generally, “diets higher in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, but lower in meat and sweets, may be protective” against kidney function decline. In comparison to the diet eaten by our ancient ancestors, not only are we eating more saturated fat, sugar, and salt, we now also eat an acid-producing diet, as opposed to a base-producing, or alkaline, diet. Ancestral human diet...
Post a Comment
Read more

Avengers: Infinity War kicked ass at the Box Office

Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” made an estimated $640.9 million at the worldwide box office for its opening weekend, according to Disney (DIS). That shatters the record for biggest worldwide opening held by Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious,” which made $541 million for its global opening last year. “Infinity War” also brought in an […] The post Avengers: Infinity War kicked ass at the Box Office appeared first on Fitness Gurls Magazine . from Fitness Gurls Magazine https://ift.tt/2toV7qm
Post a Comment
Read more