We learned while growing up, that food, clothing, and shelter are essentials for man. However, if we have learned anything from science, it is that only one would greatly affect good health. That is food and this is why we are looking at how to start eating healthy.
Eating healthy might seem pretty straightforward until you actually want to do it then it becomes a maze. You would be amazed at the number of people on their phones, searching for how to start eating healthy. The internet is filled with so much information concerning how you can eat healthily and half of it is false. Too many weight loss myths make it harder for us to even get eating healthy right.
We are going to debunk some wrong myths about eating healthy and losing weight as well as outline the various ways to live a healthier life by knowing what, how, and when to eat.
Table of Contents
Weight Loss Myths
We must first understand that not everything we see on the internet about healthy eating and weight loss is true. For example, we are certain that you have come across statements like;
- Carbohydrate makes you bloat.
- Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
- Starving is the easiest weight loss technique.
- Drinking water makes you slim down.
- Fat people are unhealthy.
- And so much more…
We call these things myths – their proofs are not strong enough to carry them as a law for weight loss. Other times, the statement made does not cover everything that is needed on the subject matter. If you wish to find out more about food and weight loss myths, you can check this out.
10 Tricks to Eating Healthy for Beginners
Knowing that you have made the right decision sometimes is all that we need in terms of motivation. When you choose to eat healthily, there are a lot of pluses that come with it. We won’t end if we decide to mention all but some of the benefits of eating healthy which include; reduced risk of cancer, weight loss, stronger teeth and bones improved health of the heart and so on.
You can make sure the journey is not one you regret in the long run with these steps:
1. Choose a Goal
Socrates said ‘Man know thyself’ and this remains one of the most popular quotes in the world today. Regardless of what you want to do, it is important to first outline your expectations and set targets for yourself. You should have a self-evaluation for a clearer picture of what you should do and how you should go about doing it.
It is important to understand more about your body type and what works best for you. Ask yourself why you want to eat healthier. Are you trying to lose some weight? Do you want to live a more healthy lifestyle? Setting a goal for yourself does help you stay focused on the aim of your journey. It will also help you measure your success hence improving your motivation levels as you go ahead.
2. Create a Meal Plan to Start Eating Healthy
One of the steps to eating healthier food is creating a meal plan. You have to make sure the meal plan is healthy. Over time, it has been proven that one of the best ways to eat healthily is following the created plan. You should know what you are supposed to eat and when you are supposed to eat them will reduce the number of times you have unplanned snacks. This is because it is easier to stick to a routine that is already mapped out rather than just deciding on the go. If you own a fridge, preparing them ahead of time is a good option.
3. Take It One Step at a Time
Rome wasn’t built in a day neither was all that weight and toxins accumulated over one meal. You must understand that this weight loss and healthy eating adventure is one step at a time. Set realistic goals for yourself; reward yourself when you smash them. You should never punish yourself for coming short of your regular plan, this is because you would end up just killing your morale.
4. Water is Important to Eating Healthy
This is arguably the most important both on and off the books. When you eat a lot, you tend to drift towards your former unhealthy eating habits, which diminishes your progress in this line. This is why water is important, although we have established that it does not directly aid weight loss. Water reduces your need to eat and keeps you hydrated and these are factors that aid digestion and metabolism. You should put drinking water constantly at the top of your list.
5. Avoid High Carbs/Saturated Fat/Sugar
You must eliminate high-carbohydrates, saturated and unhealthy fat, and sugar at all costs for a healthier eating lifestyle. Food like white bread, pasta, flavoured yoghurt, processed foods, etc should be avoided if you want to eat healthily. You can replace those foofoodsth their low-carb alternatives like Greek yoghurt, eggs, leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits, coconut oil, etc. These food groups will give you the needed energy and quench your hunger without necessarily overloading you with calories.
6. Focus on the Positives when Eating Healthy
There are food types that help rejuvenate the body and also would do you a lot of good when battling weight loss. These foods would include high-fibre foods, seafood especially oily fish, green teas, etc. You should focus more on these amazing products and food classes as they are surely going to aid weight loss and help you improve your healthy eating habits.
7. Rationing is a Good Option
We can eat more than four times a day when we are gearing towards losing weight. This is because eating starts the process of metabolism. The problem we have as regards to eng is the fact that we eat too much in one go. Some food scientists would even advise that we eat up to six times a day as long as we make sure we ration the portions of food to the barest minimum.
8. Other Things to Avoid
Salt might be the universal spice but if you wish to promote healthy eating habits, you should reduce your salt intake to the barest minimum. You must reduce your salt intake because of the presence of sodium in it, more sodium means you would retain more water to balance it hence increasing weight. Carbonated drinks should also be avoided if your plan is a healthy eating habit.
9. Count Your Calories
Everything should be measured and this is what birthed the idea of calories. Calories are the unit of measurement for energy in food and beverages. The whole idea of weight loss is burning more calories than you take in. There are a lot of formulas and mathematics that go into how to calculate the calories in food and the ones you need but you need not worry. There are also a lot of websites and applications that can help do the calculation.
10. Add Exercise
We have made it obvious that you must take in fewer calories than you use every day. This is what constitutes eating healthy and getting the right weight. So, adding exercise is a must for an all-around healthy lifestyle. You should know that exercise will help you understand whatever it is you are doing right with your eating.
The Science of Food and Weight Loss
It is quite simple, the food we put inside our bodies would give fuel and direction for proper functionality but when the direction and fuel aren’t right, the metabolic process is affected and our health follows. Your cells need nutrients to function and those nutrients come from food. Contrary to popular belief, a bad eating habit could also be overeating – consuming much more calories than you burn could lead to weight gain.
Eating Healthy – Good and Bad Habits
When the goal is healthy eating, some of the habits to avoid would include;
- Dinner is after 9 pm
- Eating too quickly
- Skipping meals
- Stress-eating
- Stopped eating an entire food group
- Using large plates to serve food
However, there are good habits that you can include in your eating routine. They include;
- Eat a lot of vegetables
- Choose low-fat dairy products
- High-fibre foods are a must
- Calculate calories
- Follow your meal plan
- Do not eat in front of a screen
Conclusion on How to Start Eating Healthy
There are a lot of healthy eating rules on the internet but as you have seen here, half of them are myths and too much attention shouldn’t be given to them. The baseline here is getting a meal plan that accommodates all classes of food yet in the healthiest form available. Remember, we are burning more calories than we take in – so try to be more active as you go about your day. Here are our 8 Tested Tips for Exercise Beginners and Benefits of Exercising to get you started on your fitness journey.
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