Immediate Benefits
When you start making healthy food choices, you can start to reap some rewards immediately. Fueling up with wholesome choices can lead to a feeling of pride, satisfaction and self-confidence. And before you even reach your weight-loss goals, you can pat yourself on the back for taking steps in the right direction. If you're more of an instant gratification person, focus on the benefits you can gain right now from eating well, rather than agonize over how long it might take to reach a substantial weight goal.
On the physical side, there are also benefits which can materialize rapidly. Choosing a diet that is lower in sugar and refined carbohydrates, while being rich in protein, fiber, and vegetables will help even out blood sugar levels, avoiding large peaks and valleys throughout the day. This translates into improved energy levels, without the telltale mid-afternoon "slump". Within a day of improving your dietary choices, you might notice improved stamina for work and exercise, and enjoy better sleep.
Two Weeks
Within 14 days, you should start to see physical changes if you stick to a healthy eating plan. At a good rate of weight loss, you can lose four or five pounds in two weeks. Your body shape may not look drastically different yet, but looser fitting clothes are a sign that you are making progress. Staying hydrated and increasing your nutrient intake also can improve your skin's appearance. With only two weeks of dietary treatment, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that men were able to significantly lower both total blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. If lowering your blood pressure is one of your goals, you can also attain significant improvements in two weeks. Specifically, following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has proved effective in this short time frame.
After two weeks you also can expect greater emotional and mental benefits. Getting started was the hardest part! After 14 days of learning to turn down unhealthy foods, you may find that you are building confidence about controlling what you eat, and it is easier to keep your momentum going. By including more fruits and vegetables in your diet, you have likely found a few new ways to prepare and serve them. Perhaps you have also forged new habits that encourage portion control, planning meals and snacks ahead of time, and finding healthier options at your favorite restaurants. Healthy eating behaviors are skills: It takes time to perfect them, but every time you practice healthy habits, you become more expert at doing it.
Long Term Results
If you have a large weight loss goal, slow and steady wins the race. Keep in mind that you didn't gain weight overnight, and it isn't going to be lost overnight either. Think long term, and focus on patience and persistence. Remember: There are 52 weeks in a year, so losing just a pound a week means you would be at least 50 pounds lighter by this time next year.
Research has yet to determine how long a healthy diet must be followed to achieve long term benefits for disease prevention. It is well supported, however, that healthy diets reduce risks for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke. The epidemiology of such chronic diseases indicates that disease risk is a cumulative product of years, even decades, of lifestyle choices.
While that doesn't give you a clear end point, such as "after three months, I've cut my risk for a heart attack," it does add value to every day that you choose to make healthy food choices. The longer you stick with your healthy eating plan, the more protection you give yourself from chronic disease. So if you keep up the motivation, you continue to gain benefits.
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