A healthy lifestyle starts with a healthy diet. Eating nutritious food and exercising regularly is essential to maintaining physical and mental health. Eating the right foods and staying active can also help you lose weight and increase your odds of living a longer, happier life. Here are some tips on how to eat healthier without sacrificing flavor or your social life.
Stop Skipping Breakfast
One of the best eating and dieting tips is to not skip breakfast. You may be surprised, but skipping or having a smaller breakfast means you're more likely to consume more calories throughout the day. Starting the day with a healthy breakfast will kickstart your metabolism as well help you burn more calories. When you eat breakfast you're telling your body that there are plenty of calories to be had for the day. Eating healthy breakfast, will set the tone for your day and help keep you energized.
Drink Plenty of Water
Water is essential to your body's hydration. It helps regulate temperature and it transports nutrients and oxygen throughout your blood stream. Not drinking enough water can lead to headaches, constipation, and other health problems. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women should drink 9 cups and men should drink 13 cups of water per day. An added bonus of staying hydrated is also weight loss. When you stay hydrated your body will hold less water weight helping to to shed those extra pounds of unwanted water weight.
Don't Skip Meals
It's important to eat regularly throughout the day so that your body doesn't enter starvation mode, which slows down your metabolism. Your body needs time to digest food properly and get the nutrients it needs for good health. Choose a healthy snacks like fruit or a protein bar so that you don't overeat at mealtime.
If you have a busy lifestyle and can't find time for regular meals, try incorporating small, healthy meals into your lifestyle by preparing salads or other quick-to-eat foods ahead of time. Make sure these snacks are low-calorie and packed with protein so they can keep you feeling full longer.
Plan When You Eat in Advance
One of the best ways to eat healthy is by planning ahead. This will help you avoid choosing unhealthy foods at a time when you're hungry and can't decide what to do. Make sure to pack snacks like trail mix, protein bars or fruit for situations when hunger comes out of nowhere. You should also keep healthy food stocked in your fridge so that you don't have to turn up for an impromptu trip to the grocery store when you're hungry.
Eat a Wide Variety of Food
A diet is not successful if it’s not sustainable. When you’re trying to eat healthier, it can be hard to find satisfying, delicious food. But that doesn't have to be the case; there are many foods out there that are low in calories and high in nutrition that taste great.
Eating a wide variety of food will keep your diet varied and help you avoid getting bored with your meals. It also ensures that you get all the nutrients you need each day without feeling like you're sacrificing flavor or variety.
Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand
One of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy diet is with healthy snacks. You can always keep nuts, fruit, vegetables, and cheese in your fridge or pantry so that you can eat something when hunger strikes. Try some of these healthy snacks:
- Nuts: These are packed with protein and contain monounsaturated fats that are excellent for the heart. Almonds are especially great because they're high in fiber, vitamin D, and calcium.
- Apples: A medium apple has only 95 calories but provides a significant amount of fiber and antioxidants to help fight cancer risks.
- Cheese: Cheese is high in calcium and protein which will aid weight loss efforts. Try mixing different types together to get the most nutritional bang for your buck!
Cut Back on the Sugar and Alcohol
Cutting back on sugar and alcohol can be one of the easiest ways to start eating healthier. Sugar is hidden in many foods and beverages, including ketchup, salad dressing, cereal, pasta sauce, ice cream, yogurt, and even tomato sauce. And alcohol contains empty calories that can lead to weight gain.
You can cut back on these unhealthy ingredients by reading ingredient labels or taking a peek at the Nutrition Facts label on food packaging. Be sure you're paying attention to serving size too! You may find that you'll need to read the labels more than once to get a clear picture of your dietary intake.
Conclusion
Eating right and exercising are the cornerstones to any healthy lifestyle. You can't exercise your way to a healthy body if you're not eating right, but it's not always easy to make time for both your diet and your exercise routine. So, by following these simple tips you can get a healthy body without putting too much pressure on yourself.
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