The benefits of good nutrition are obvious: you have more energy, your health improves, and your productivity is at its peak. And if you are anything like the majority of us, eating healthy is always on top of the New Year resolution list. Making a lifestyle choice through an array of diets is testing enough in today’s fast-paced world, but sticking to it is the real challenge.
Now, I don't claim to follow the healthiest diet, but years of research, trying different diets and finally consulting with a nutritionist has helped me develop a few simple ways for building and strengthening a healthy eating habit. Believe it, a healthy diet is possible doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favourite foods. Here are a few tricks to stay enthused about eating right and adopting consistent long-term healthy eating habits.
Consult An Expert To Get Started
Personally, this has helped me a lot. Any lifestyle choice you make needs its own research and guidance—we don’t start swimming or weight training without the help of a trainer, do we? Adopting healthy eating habits is a daunting task, so allow an expert to help you identify your daily nutrient needs, and necessary foods for any existing specific conditions and deficiencies you may have. Trained professionals can help you figure out the best path for you.
Trick Yourself Into Eating Healthy
Change your plate—use smaller plates, bigger plates mean bigger portions. When you eat a small portion off of a large plate, your mind feels unsatisfied. Meanwhile, the same portion will feel more filling when eaten off of a small plate. Use tall, slender glasses instead of short, fat ones to have the occasional cocktail or soda. Taller drinks look bigger to our eyes than round, horizontal glasses do. Fun fact: you end up drinking about 20 per cent less.
Treat Your ‘Treat’ Like A Past Relationship
You know how you shouldn’t call your ex because you are feeling lonely—apply the same logic to that scrumptious sugar-filled seven-tiered chocolate pastry you crave every time you are hungry.
Don’t eat your treat when you are really hungry, that promotes more consumption. Allow yourself to savour it, eat a sliver as dessert when you are full.
Stay In The “Outer Ring”
When you go to the departmental store, only walk around the “outer ring” of the store—that’s where the healthy food usually lives: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy, lean meats, fish, eggs, pulses, lose spices etc. The aisles are where all of the boxed and processed stuff is placed. Also, never go grocery shopping when you are hungry; you will pile up on treats and how.
Set Realistic Goals
Eating healthy is a lifestyle choice everyone should follow but people usually get motivated to do so with an ulterior motive—losing weight. You’re more likely to follow through when you have a realistic plan; set a goal to lose not more than three to four kgs in one month with a proper diet and some form of physical exercise (3o minutes daily). Instead of giving up on carbs or sweets entirely, eat desserts three times a week instead of seven.
Obsess Over What You Can Have, Not What You Can’t
The key to eating healthy is getting your portions right and eating at the right time. My nutritionist says that if your body has been accustomed to eating certain foods, deviating from that in a significant way usual backfires because you tend to fall off the wagon. Diets are overly restrictive and unrealistic for long-term use. Focus on making small changes to your diet – increase the portion of vegetables on your plate and have one serving of rice instead of two servings. If you like spinach there’s a chance you will like kale too, introduce new food items to your plate.
Celebrate Your Progress
Your goal could be to be 5 kgs lighter or to not eat seconds or sugar at any meal for a week. Whatever it is, when you reach it, reward yourself—buy that new top, get your nails done, get a massage, but make sure the reward is not food-related. Incentivising your progress validates the achievement and the need to continue working toward bigger goals.
Be Forgiving
Did you have one too many cocktails or pizza slices on vacation, at a holiday party, or a large slice of cake because your mood got the best of you? Instead of being hard on yourself—pick up where you left off. Don’t try to right what you think is wrong by skipping your next meal or starving yourself. Fight the urge to fall off the bandwagon completely and reinforce your dedication to eating healthy.