If you have vowed to adopt healthy eating habits, with no more excuses, here are six tips for bringing your new vision to life. Healthy eating habits will help you achieve your desired weight, sustain good health and gain greater mental clarity.
1. Eat Breakfast
When you reach a no more excuses stage in life, it's time to look closely at the eating habits that have led to weight gain and health issues. One of the most important aspects of healthy eating is making sure to eat breakfast every morning. When you skip breakfast, you increase your chances of overeating later on in the day. The tendency to reach for unhealthy late-morning snacks is also greater when you skip breakfast. Choose a healthy breakfast of whole grains, fruit, nuts and yogurt to energize you and to keep you full until lunchtime.
2. Go Grocery Shopping
One reason that people eat out so much is that there is nothing to eat in the fridge. Adopt a habit of grocery shopping at least once a week. Make a grocery list and be sure to prioritize the purchase of the healthier foods, such as fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Find simple and healthy recipes and make sure to include the ingredients in your weekly grocery list.
3. Pack Healthy Snacks
Once you have purchased healthy snacks from the grocery store, be sure to pack them into plastic baggies to take with you to work or to eat in the car in between running errands. Packing on extra pounds sometimes comes with feeling hungry and reaching for snacks from the company vending machine, or stopping at the corner store for cookies or chips. When you plan ahead and have a stash of nuts, granola bars, trail mix or dried fruit with you, there are no more excuses for eating unhealthy snacks.
4. Avoid Late-Night Eating
Many people tend to overeat late at night while watching television or working on the computer. Although eating late at night doesn't lead to weight gain in and of itself, the tendency at night is to overeat while engaging in sedentary activities. Tell yourself that you will not eat for the several hours leading up to bedtime. If you do eat, choose healthy low-calorie snacks that are also low in sugar and fat.
5. Exercise Regularly
One of the ways to adopt healthy eating habits is to exercise more. When you exercise, your energy level increases and your mood is enhanced. This often leads to a decrease in emotional eating.
6. Get Enough Sleep
At first glance, getting enough sleep may not seem related to healthy eating habits. In reality, studies show that when you don't sleep enough, your body produces hormones that increase your appetite and decrease your ability to feel full. This means that you will often eat more without feeling full. Getting adequate rest each night will help you to achieve the proper balance of hormones that translate into healthy eating habits.
