Sticking to a healthy lifestyle
Have you ever had every intention of embarking upon a new healthy eating journey, only to fall off the wagon and give in to bad habits within a just a few days? Despite the fact that adopting a healthier life has the potential to help you lose weight, reduce the risk of disease and provide you with more energy; it can still seem like a daunting, difficult task for many!
To make things easier for you, I have listed a handful of small changes to help you stick to some healthy habits. The more you practice the following tips and incorporate them into your daily life, the easier and more ingrained they will become. Before long you are certain to reap the benefits of adopting these new habits.
Avoid keeping junk food in the house
Out of sight, out of mind. It’s simple, if you know there is junk food available you’re less likely to be able to resist it when chocolate cravings strike! The best thing to do is avoid buying it entirely. Try replacing heavily processed snacks (which are often laden with sugar, salt and fat) with healthier alternatives. Try homemade raw bars, nuts/seeds, fruit etc. These healthy alternatives are nutritionally dense and guaranteed to keep you feeling fuller and more energised for longer!
Eating Mindfully
Mindfulness is certainly one of the most commonly used buzz words at the moment. All over the world, people are recognising the extraordinary benefits of being ‘in the moment’. This applies to food too, by eating mindfully: slowing down to appreciate and savour each mouthful of food, setting down your fork in-between bites and recognising when you’re full, you will be more in tune with your body. Essentially, eating mindfully will help you to truly understand your body’s personal hunger signals, thus decreasing the likelihoods of overeating.
As well as its many other benefits, drinking more water will also help you eat less during a meal. Drinking a glass of water before a meal will help you to feel more satisfied on less food.
For more information on the benefits of drinking water please do click the link to read one of my previous blog posts on the topic: Benefit Of Drinking Water
Preparation is key
As mentioned in one of my earlier blog posts, planning and preparation are key to maintaining a healthy diet. Planning each meal you’re going to have during the week is a great way to stay on track (as well as helping you save money!). I also highly recommend incorporating healthy snacks within your plan. If you lead a busy lifestyle and are likely to go long periods of time without eating a proper meal, having healthy snacks on hand (ideally high in protein) is ideal to curb hunger and to prevent you from reaching for unhealthy convenience food.
Get the family involved
Including the whole family in your new endeavour to lead a healthier lifestyle will significantly enhance the likelihoods of maintained success! It can be really tough sticking to a new routine, so if the whole family is on board, it will make things significantly easier and less lonely or daunting. Plus, why wouldn’t you want to fill your loved ones with nutritional goodness?! Trust me, they will thank you later!
Remember healthy doesn’t mean boring or tasteless, do take a look at some of the recipes listed in my blog for some really tasty, healthy meal ideas (include link).
Breakfast like a king
There is a reason why breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day. A well-balanced breakfast full of nutritional goodness, will help to ensure that your blood sugar levels are maintained and that you feel sufficiently energised! This is how to beat a sugar addiction.
I highly recommend eating a breakfast high in protein, such as eggs or natural yoghurt with nuts and seeds for healthy fats. This will help to ensure you stay fuller for longer and therefore decreasing the chances of over eating or reaching for unhealthy options later on in the day. According to a recent weight loss study undertaken by researchers at Tel Aviv University, over the period of 12 weeks, those who ate a high protein breakfast lost more than double than those who opted for carbohydrate based breakfast.
Check out my free 7-Day Healthy Habits Challenge for other healthier habits to follow.
