Most people will tell you the “easy” part is working out but the real struggle is with eating good foods. Here are my top tips on how to get your healthy eating habits on track.
1: Reset your goal
If your goal is set around wanting to look good or wanting to lose lbs on the scales – then in my opinion you are setting yourself up for failure. Your overall goal should be deeper than that. It should be based on a desire to look after your body as a whole, ensuring you live in the healthiest, happiest body possible. If you are someone who constantly strives to be “skinnier” or always wants to “lose 1/2 a stone” your first step should be to reset your goal and strive first and foremost to live a healthier lifestyle for the inner good of your body.
2: Start a Food Diary
Step two is then to realise what exactly you are feeding your body day in and day out. The simplest way to do this is to literally start journalling all your food. Buy a little A5 notebook and start tracking your daily meals. This step is to help you see exactly the foods you reach for, helps to identify mindless eating and also highlights all the “treats” you reach for throughout the week. Its a perfect little exercise to help you really focus on where you can improve by eating better foods for your body.
3: Use an App
The next step I often recommend is downloading an app that will highlight the calories and macros in the foods you eat. This is not a step that should be followed only by those who want to count macros – it’s a fantastic exercise for everyone – even if you only keep it up for a couple of weeks. It helps you get a better idea of exactly what is in the foods you are eating. How many grams of protein are in a chicken breast, how many grams of carbs are in a bowl of porridge or how much fat is in an avocado. It’s a very worthwhile exercise. I always recommend it to clients for at least 2-3 weeks. In that time you will have encountered at least 90% of the foods you usually reach for. It’s a great way to just understand exactly what you are eating at all your mealtimes.
4: Don’t Jump To Supplements
Supplementation is almost the last thing you need to look at in terms of dietary intake. The primary aim should always be to get as much good nutrition from the real foods that you eat. Jumping in to taking supplements as a very first step is not the way to go. Concentrate on first getting your food intake on track with wholesome foods.
5: Add One Recipe A Week
Each Sunday sit down and look up one recipe you can try this week. A healthy eating recipe that you think you might enjoy. Adding just one a week means eventually you will have an amazing collection of healthy eating meals, variety in your weekly choices and less chance of you getting “bored” with your healthy eating lifestyle.
Five simple steps that you can take to really get your eating habits on the right track. I hope you can take something from them.
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See you there,
Leanne x