Eating healthy doesn't have to mean eating nothing but salad every day. Instead, creating an eating plan that you can maintain is key. Incorporate your favorite fruits and veggies into each meal, and create modified recipes that can help control your cravings for not-so-healthy items. By eliminating saturated fat, excess sugar and processed foods from your diet, you can start eating healthier and feeling better. Your new, healthy diet will contain so many delicious additions, you won't even miss that old junk food.
Step 1
Make a list of your favorite healthy foods. These foods may include bell peppers, spinach, avocados, low-fat cheese, lean turkey breast, fish, yogurt and whole-grain crackers. Incorporate at least one of these healthy foods into each meal so you can look forward to the food you're eating.
Step 2
Sit down for each meal and savor every bite, suggests Dr. Judith Beck, author of "The Beck Diet Solution." Instead of treating eating like a race, sit down and really taste the foods you are eating.
Step 3
Eat one of your favorite not-so-healthy foods a day, in moderation. If you love chocolate, allow yourself a brownie after dinner if you have eaten healthy for the rest of the day. This way, you will not feel discouraged that you are never allowed to eat the foods you want while following a healthier lifestyle.
Step 4
Cook meals from scratch and make wise substitutions, when possible. "Your shopping strategies should focus on fresh and unprocessed foods," suggests the Mayo Clinic. If you are cooking macaroni and cheese as a side dish, use low-fat cheese, skim milk and whole-grain pasta. Then, add a handful of collard greens or spinach in the last 30 seconds of cooking time. Eat a small portion of the dish and enjoy every delicious bite.
Step 5
Learn to accept hunger and avoid treating it like an emergency, states Dr. Beck. Feeling hungry is not a bad thing and does not require immediate sustenance. If you wait a few hours until dinner instead of eating that cookie as a snack, your body will continue to work in a productive way until dinner. If you must snack, focus on foods with high water content, like carrots and celery, which will fill you up faster.
Tips and Warnings
- Whole grains will keep you more full than refined carbohydrates, which turn into sugar in the body more quickly.
- Consult a doctor before starting any type of restrictive diet.
Things You'll Need
- Bell peppers
- Spinach
- Avocados
- Low-fat cheese
- Lean turkey breast
- Fish
- Yogurt
- Whole-grain crackers
- Brownie
- Low-fat cheese
- Skim milk
- Whole-grain pasta
- Carrots
- Celery
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