No need to overhaul your diet

A healthy breakfast bowl sure can be a real treat.

The reason so many fail at eating better is that they feel a need to change absolutely everything about their diet. Eating healthy isn’t all about changing everything. It’s about substituting out foods that don’t add value to your diet with foods that are higher in nutritional value.

Making huge changes to your diet can in fact put you off completely. Create healthy eating habits that are a part of your everyday life, rather than trying fad diets that don’t stick.

Eating healthy should be a part of your daily routine. And once you start to nourish your body properly, you’ll begin to crave the healthier foods rather than the unhealthy ones.

So, what’s healthy?

It’s all about eating whole foods and as little processed foods as possible. The more natural form your foods, the higher their nutritional value for your body. This means eating more vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and whole grains. These types of foods are high in fiber, healthy fats to keep you satisfied for longer, and vitamins and minerals.

How can I stick to this?

G’bye, sugary drinks! Hello, homemade fruit-infused water!

Easy! Forbes tells us that the more simulated our palates are, the more likely it is we will stick to a nutritious diet. This means mixing things up. The added benefit of this is that your body will be getting a range of nutrients from different foods, which cuts down cravings and replenishes vitamin stores. Try adding some variety to your meals with herbs and spices, truffles, or infused oils and salts.

Some other tips you can put into practice include:

• Keep healthy food handy by having nuts and seeds ready to go for snacks and chopped vegetables in the fridge.
• Count your nutrients and not your calories! The more focused you are on nutritional value, the less you’ll worry about splurging all of your daily calories on a sugary treat. You’ll end up craving sugar less and you’ll see it’s not that valuable for your body any way.
• Don’t eat mindlessly. Instead of snacking on chips and chocolates whilst watching TV, snap out of the habit by making healthy meals and creating food rituals.
• Drink more water. Sometimes we’re not hungry, we’re just thirsty!
• Plan ahead by making a grocery list so you don’t get caught out with no healthy foods at home, and so that you stick to the list when you go to the store. Try sticking to the edges of the supermarket where fresh foods are kept, the most processed foods are usually located in the middle of the store in the isles.

Browse through our food musings today for more tips on how to eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle.

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