Top 5 Healthy Eating Habits to make part of your life
Don’t categorise foods as good or bad
Healthy eating should be just one part of a sustainable method to being healthy, not a fad or a quick fix. Having a restrictive approach about food can encourage unhealthy eating habits and behaviours and isn’t sustainable in the long run. Instead, make nutritious choices as much as possible, but don’t punish yourself for enjoying something you like. Healthy eating is all about balance!
Practise Mindful eating
Mindful eating is a powerful tool to regain control of your eating.
There are so many benefits to eating with more awareness for both your body and your mind. Try these tips:
- Chew slowly. This makes food easier to metabolise and will prevent indigestion.
- Listen to hunger cues. Asking yourself whether you are still hungry, or whether you are satisfied and being more aware of how you feel will help to prevent you from overeating or eating when you are not hungry.
- Savour and enjoy your food! Mealtimes will be even more enjoyable when you take the time to taste and appreciate the flavours and textures of your food. It also encourages you to reflect on the time taken to prepare the meal and practise gratitude, which can lead to a greater sense of wellbeing.
Plan and prepare
Take some time out to prepare your meals for the week, either by writing down a plan and/or actually cooking your food so it’s ready to go. Planning and preparing some of your meals for the week can take away the burden of deciding what to eat and prevent you from making less healthy choices when you’re out and about or don’t have healthy food on hand.
You could even commit to something as small as packing your bag with an apple and some nuts each night so you know you’ll have something nutritious on hand every day.
Find healthy foods that you really enjoy
Kelsey Wells’ number one tip is to find healthy foods that you love to eat! Instead of forcing yourself to eat something you hate just because you know it’s healthy, choose foods that you actually enjoy eating and fill your diet with these.
For example, if you really don’t like kale, that’s okay, there are other foods that are just as good for you! Healthy eating should always be enjoyable and never a chore.
Try new things
While it’s easy to eat the same foods each week, mixing it up can increase the variety of nutrients your body is getting. Plus, trying new foods is fun! You could recreate dishes from different cultures, buy vegetables, fruits (have you tried jackfruit?) or grains you haven’t tried before, or try making vegetarian food once a week.