Eating doesn’t seem that hard, right? You just have to find something edible that tastes nice, chew, and let your stomach digest. Yet, the whole world has gone mad over maintaining a proper diet. This is because the food we eat greatly affects the way we function and look. Certain foods have more nutritional value than others, thus making us happier, healthier, and visually stunning.
As well as the food we eat, though, it’s also important to pay attention to how we eat. Your eating habits will determine the way your body operates and your mind thinks. Cognitive function is the first thing affected by unhealthy habits. You’ll notice this if you’re sluggish, have mood swings often, and can’t really focus on a task at hand. It’s time to start living your best life by finally putting a stop to the unhealthy habits which make your life harder.
1. Eat 5 times a day
Though it may sound like a lot, having five meals a day is actually the right way to eat. It’s all about eating small consistent portions that keep your tummy full throughout the day. Thus, you should have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks in-between.
Remember to measure your portions and only eat as much as can fit in your palm. This way, you’ll be sure you’re not overeating, and you’ll have a much easier time eating five meals a day.
2. Find out your dietary preference
Believe it or not, there are more diets that you can choose from. Whether you decide to go on Paleo, Ketogenic, Vegan, or Mediterranean, you’ll suddenly feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. This is because you’ll feel much lighter and more comfortable in your own body.
Before starting a diet, you should do thorough research on each one. Up to now, you’ve probably familiarized yourself with your dietary preferences, so it should be easy choosing the right diet according to how your body responds to food and what kind of person you are. If not, don’t be afraid to experiment first.
3. Cut out certain things
Even though you may not be glad to hear it, you’ll need to cut out certain things like sugar. It is by far the favourite thing on the food pyramid, but also the unhealthiest. Most of the sugar you eat today just makes you sluggish and progressively makes you unhealthier. Thus, you’ll need to cut sugar out entirely.
That means no more junk food, snacks, candy, and soda. The most common mistake people make when cutting sugar out is that they quit cold turkey. Not being able to have something just makes you want it more, and soon you’ll cave and start with your old habits again.
Instead of quitting cold turkey, you can always find alternatives to the things you like. Chocolate can be replaced with the equally delicious dark chocolate, but you also need to add granola bars, and fruits and veggies as refreshing snacks. As far as soda is concerned, you’ll need to switch to water entirely.
If you’re having a hard time drinking plain water after making your switch, don’t be afraid to infuse it with lemon or mint to give it an extra kick.
4. Work around your schedule
Living in modern society often means that your nutrition takes a backseat to your schedule. Running from meeting to meeting, running errands, and meeting all other challenges of having a personal and work life, it’s not uncommon for people to forget to eat. This is an extremely unhealthy habit because your schedule exhausts your body and you don’t give it enough fuel. Soon enough, you simply collapse.
Of course, you’ll need to think of a good way to eat while you work. Eating out and ingesting empty carbs does nothing good for your body, which is why it should be avoided at all costs. You can’t really cook either, so what other option do you have?
Luckily, eating healthy while checking items off your to-do list doesn’t have to give you a headache anymore. More and more companies like My Muscle Chef today strive to provide fresh and healthy food to their clients because of the situation they’re in. By talking to them, you’d be getting the nutrition that you need while staying on track with your life. You no longer have to choose between the two, and nutrition really does become a priority.
5. Don’t skip meals
As we saw from the previous example, working around your schedule is a must. This also means that you can’t skip the five meals listed at the beginning of the article. This piece of advice sounds like a logical conclusion to what you’ve read so far, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t abide by it. It’s mostly because they think they’re eating healthy and skipping one or two meals won’t hinder their progress.
That number suddenly becomes more frequent, and before you know it you don’t have breakfast or dinner almost ever anymore. Skipping meals is damaging for your physical health but also your motivation to keep eating healthy. You’ll be starving your body until it’s craving something like sugar and empty carbs; because these things are easily digestible.
Your tummy needs to work all the time, so give it something to work with. It’s going to be very hard resisting the call of starvation, so don’t let yourself get to this stage.
Conclusion
Though these pieces of advice sound sensible enough, it’s not always easy sticking to them. You’ll find it that it’s much easier to abide by them in theory than in real life. There are a lot of challenges coming your way, and you’ll need to meet them all if you plan on making a real change in your life. Proper nutrition may seem scary and overwhelming in the beginning, but soon enough it becomes a fact of life. After all, you easily get addicted to good things.
