9 ways to reset and eat healthier in the real world
Do you want to hit the ‘reset’ button on your eating? Reboot your body and start fresh this Spring by adding more nutrients into your life so you feel light, energetic, clear-minded and confident.
Check out our 9 top ways to reset your eating in the real world here:
1. Eat more Nutrient Dense foods
What’s a nutrient dense food?
A nutrient dense food is simply a food that is high in vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre, and healthy fats. They are low in sugar, processed carbohydrates, saturated fat, trans fats and salt. In other words they are foods that are close to their natural or whole form.
Eg. vegetables, fruit, wholegrains (like brown pasta, brown rice and oats), chicken, fish, lean red meat, legumes, nuts seeds, milk, yoghurt, olive oil, oily fish, avocado.
2. Eat less Nutrient scarce foods
What is a nutrient scarce food?
Nutrient scarce foods are higher in sugar, fat and salt like takeaways, fried foods, pastries, confectionery, chocolate, ice cream, doughnuts etc. These foods provide minimal nutrients and don’t contribute to your health
3. Eat from each of the 5 food groups
What are the food groups?
These are 5 groups which you should be selecting your foods from:
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Whole Grain carbs
- Protein + Dairy
- Healthy fats
How many portions from each food group do I need?
Download your personal nutrition plan from your dashboard to find out how much you need.
Then, start by:
- observing your current eating pattern and counting your portions from each food group to get an idea of where you are at.
- Pick one food group eg veggies and try to include more veggies to reach your required amount. (this may take a few days or a few weeks to get used to).
- Pick another food group e.g carbs and try to adjust what you’re eating to reach your required portion amount.
- Continue this with each food group.
- Do not rush this – slowly increase or reduce your portions until you get used to it so it sticks!
4. Diversify your foods
Eating a variety of foods is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to fuelling your body with nutrition. All foods contain different nutrients and different amounts of nutrients. So make sure each week you eat a range of different fruit and veggies, mix up your grains, try new legumes and eat a variety of nuts and seeds.
5. Cook more
With store bought meals and takeaways – you just don’t know what’s going into them! It’s the hidden sugars, salt and fats which can be a barrier to you reaching your weight loss and health goals. If you are used to takeaways or store bought meals then start by cooking just one or two extra meals in the week. And gradually increase until you are down to only one take out a week.
6. Strive for progress not perfection
No one is perfect. No diet is perfect. Progress is key. If you can start by making small changes like adding an extra portion of veggies to your day, then this is progress.
7. Honour your dislikes.
If you just don’t like a certain food then don’t eat it. There are so many healthy foods out there for you to eat, so don’t force yourself to eat something you don’t like just because it’s considered healthy.
8. Stock up with the basics
To prevent you from ordering takeaways, always keep the basics stocked up in your fridge and pantry. For example veggies, eggs, brown rice microwave packets – make yourself fried rice. Cans of tomato, veggies, cans of cannellini beans, pasta – make yourself a veggie pasta!
9. Hydrate
Make sure you are regularly sipping on water. Dehydration can be mistaken for hunger. If you are having cravings, have a glass of water before reaching for the snacks. Being adequately hydrated will help your energy, concentration and productivity. And try to limit sugar sweetened beverages as much as possible.
Need some inspiration?
Head to our RECIPE VIDEO HUB – every recipe there has a plethora of nutrients to get you happier and healthier.
Download our family healthy eating plan to find a 7-day meal plan full of yummy healthy eating or login to download your personal nutrition plan to help create a healthier eating pattern. This is FREE to all members.
Not a member? Register now for FREE access to outdoor and online fitness classes, live guided meditations, wellness videos, recipes and more!
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/eating-to-boost-energy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4224210/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2654909/
