Simple Diet Changes for a Healthier YOU
Living healthy shouldn't be about constantly dieting. It should be about the little choices you make everyday that keep you on the path of a healthy lifestyle. It's the little changes we make day in and day out that add up and make real changes that last. What you eat or drink and the way you do it can have significant outcomes on your life without you even knowing it. I've compiled a little list of diet changes you can start implementing today to help you become a little bit healthier.
1. Measure out your nut butters
If you are like me and looove any nut butter, then you'd be surprised how much more you eat of it if you don't measure it. It's high in fat but good for you, healthy fat. I tend to have it multiple times throughout the day so I stick to 1/2 or 1 serving at a time.
2. Limit the Cheese
Cheese makes anything taste better but it is also high in unhealthy saturated fat and calories. Try to eliminate is from your omelettes, salads, pastas, etc. If you really crave it, then just have it as a snack by itself. Don't deprive yourself completely, you'll crave it even more.
3. Switch fruit to berries
I don't think people should cut out fruit completely from their diet, even if you are trying to lose weight. Fruit is so healthy for you and is rich in antioxidants! Instead, chose to eat berries over any other fruit since they are much lower in sugar/carbs.
4. Cook with water instead of oil
You can easily sautés veggies or any meat in a skillet using a little water at a time to prevent burning. Just remember that 1 tbsp of olive oil has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat.
5. Make carb-less dinners
You don't have to eliminate all carbs from your diet, that is not realistic for the long run. Our bodies need carbs to function properly, but most of us over do it on the carbs. I suggest you get into a habit of cooking every dinner without carbs. Make tons of veggies or find substitutes like Shirataki "zero-calorie" noodles, zucchini "noodles", or spaghetti squash.
6. Wash and Prep your veggies
As soon as you get your veggies from the market, wash them and cut them up into snack-able portions. Once ready to eat, keep them out on display in your fridge. It makes snacking on veggies much easier and you will be less likely to reach for a bag of chips or something else "convenient" and not so healthy.
7. Shop the Perimeter
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where all the produce, meat/fish and dairy products are. All the packaged and mostly processed food is in the middle isles, what you should try and stay away from. Most calories in your diet should come from whole foods.
8. Eat a Salad Everyday
Ok, maybe its hard to eat it every single day but try your best. I meal prep salads for several days in advance so I have it ready to eat. Focus on eating a rainbow of colors from the veggies, because every color provides a different vitamin. And salads don't have to be boring, you can literally make them any way you want. Add a bunch of pickled things like pepperoncini, olives, artichoke hearts, marinated bell peppers or things like baked squash or sweet potato to make it less boring.
9. Meal Prep
I know you know this, but do you really do it? Make it a habit of planning out your meals one day, and the next day doing the actual meal prep. Have some go-to meals that you make on the regular that are quick and easy to make. You don't have to spend all day cooking, otherwise it will become a chore that you hate. It is so nice to have meals ready to eat, it saves so much time and you are more likely to eat healthy.
Put everything aside, I honestly eat healthy 80% of the time not because I want to lose weight or have abs but because I want to live a long healthy life. I don't want to be dependent on medication or suffer from disease when I'm old and I don't think you do too. So try to make these little changes in your life and see how you feel. Remember baby steps :)
