In a world where ready-made food is abundant and available at all times, it’s a challenge to figure out how to eat healthier. Our choices are endless. As a result, it’s hard to decide what foods to eat, when to eat them, and how to prepare them.
10 Ways on How to Eat Healthier Everyday
Nevertheless, we have to do our best to make appropriate choices, so we can stay healthy and strong. The following are 10 ways to eat healthier every day.
Stay Hydrated
Our bodies can send mixed messages, especially when we’re thirsty. Sometimes, when we’re dehydrated, we can feel hungry instead. We might yearn for more food when, in reality, what we need is water. Staying hydrated can help keep your body working well and prevent any mixed messages. If you’re feeling hungry, try drinking some water. It can’t hurt and it might just do the trick!
Stay Away from Fake Versions of Real Food
Although that low-fat gluten-free chocolate chip cookie can look tempting, it still comes at a price. For example, sugar-free options are often laden with fat to make up for a taste. You can’t get something for anything, especially when it comes to food. Diet foods can feel like the fake versions of the real deal, which they are. They can leave you feeling cheated and still hungry for the real version. Instead, treat yourself to a small portion of the real thing. You’ll at least feel like you’re being honest with yourself!
Try Eating like You’re in the Mediterranean
What’s great about the Mediterranean diet is that it’s filled with healthy fats and fresh food. At its core, Mediterranean food isn’t complex or hard to make. Some grilled fish, a salad, and a glass of wine can qualify as a Mediterranean diet, and it’s much more satisfying than a stick of carrot with a diet soda. The good fats, minerals, and nutrients in Mediterranean food can lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Read the Fine Print
The small chart on your packaged food says a lot about how healthy your food is. Don’t pay so much attention to the front of the packaging. The front of the packing is meant to draw you in and appeal to your sense of hunger. The ingredient list and nutritional information provide more information than the rest of the packaging. Read closely.
It’s Okay to Eat Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh organic fruits and vegetables can be pricey and hard to come by. If that’s the case for you, don’t eat a tub of strawberry ice cream instead. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables keep longer than fresh and are easier to find. Their nutritional value is comparable to the fresh stuff, and you don’t have to have an orchard to eat them.
Be Wary of “Fruit Flavors”
Fruit flavors are not fruit. They’re barely even the real flavors. Just because the product contains real fruit flavors does not mean the item is nutritious. It sounds healthy, but it usually isn’t. Fruit flavoring can mean the item is flavored with sugar and a tinge of fruit, which is not exactly a healthy option.
Have More Home Cooked Meals
It can be difficult. Adjusting from a convenient restaurant meal to cooking at home can be daunting. The ease of a restaurant can become an addiction. UberEATS maybe your best friend. In the end, however, eating out all the time means you give up control over what you eat. When you cook your own food, you know exactly what goes into it. You control the amount of butter, sugar, or fat that gets included in the meal. There may be a learning curve, but you’d be learning how to eat healthier in the long run.
Cut Down (Way Down) on Processed Meats
While we’re on the subject of cooking at home, a frozen pre-cooked meal is not cooking. Nor are processed meats. It’s easy to heat up chicken nuggets and call it home-cooking, but it’s almost like eating in a restaurant. You have no idea what’s in the nuggets. When cooking at home, opt for fresh meats.
Snack More
It seems counter-intuitive that snacking more would lead to a healthier diet, but it works. When you go too long without eating in between meals, you can overeat at your next meal. In addition, your blood sugar can fluctuate which can cause you to feel tired and hungry. Instead, have healthy snacks on hand for you to satiate yourself throughout the day. A handful of almonds, slices of apples, or a boiled egg can keep you feeling full until your next meal.
Eat Whole Foods
Whole foods go through minimal processing. When food is unprocessed, its nutrients remain unsullied and its taste isn’t overpowered by preservatives. For instance, what exactly is in a fruit roll-up? Instead of eating a grape-flavored fruit roll-up, eat some grapes.
Bonus Tip: Use Your Mind
Your mind ultimately chooses what food you do or do not eat. So, use it to your advantage. Think mindfully and be vigilant of your thought patterns.
When you eat mindfully, you savor every bit of food you eat. You eat slowly and enjoy the food, rather than rushing through to finish the meal. Slowing down how you eat gives your taste buds enough time to enjoy the novelty of the first few bites. Afterward, you’ll find that the food becomes less enjoyable and you start to feel full.
Your brain chooses certain food for a variety of reasons. Our emotions and our subconscious play a huge part in our food choices, whether or not we’re aware of it. Hypnosis helps to reach into the subconscious and find the reasons why you gravitate towards certain foods. Eli Bliliuos from the NYC Hypnosis Center says, “a certified hypnotist can help provide positive suggestions to your subconscious, guiding you to make healthy food and portion choices in the future”. A hypnotist can program your thinking to discard harmful thought patterns that lead to poor food choices. Instead, you can be in a restaurant or at home and choose what you know to be healthy food.
By programming the mind to opt for healthy food through hypnotherapy, you can find it easier to refuse the extra slice of cake or ice-cream. You’ll gravitate to healthy food instead of Oreos and Twinkies. A certified hypnotist can rewire your thinking and change your eating habits. Hypnosis makes the struggle around tempting food easier to tolerate. As long as you know how to eat healthier, hypnosis helps you make those right decisions. Making the right decision becomes natural instead of a constant battle in your mind. To learn more about hypnosis click here.