How easy it is to start eating right

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Changing your eating habits is easier than it sounds. Check it out.

1. Buy whole grain bread instead of a loaf

In bread kiosks and supermarket departments, such products are nearby and do not differ too much in price. But they are different in nutritional characteristics.

Wheat flour, from which standard loaves and rolls are made, in the process of processing, Whole Grains loses up to 90% of vitamins and almost all of the fiber that was contained in the original raw materials. But whole grain bread, on the contrary, retains these useful compounds.

Elaine Magee M. D., author of books on healthy eating for WebMD

Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet 11 Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet

Plus, whole grain bread tastes better than a loaf. Check it out.

2. Get a nice water bottle

One that will be pleasant to carry with you: compact, stylish, comfortable. And naturally, fill it with drinking water. This will be a huge step towards healthy eating for at least three reasons:

1. You will stop overeating. We often eat food simply because we confuse thirst with hunger. The body is thirsty, but at hand only crackers or, say, chips - and we automatically pull them into our mouth. Try taking a few sips from the bottle and listening to your feelings every time you feel the need to eat something. It is very likely that in a couple of minutes what seemed like hunger will recede and you will be able to hold out without the usual high-calorie snack.
2. It will be easier for you to give up high-calorie drinks. Soda and packaged juices are bad for you. As research shows Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages linked to obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis, frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to the development of obesity and diseases associated with it: diabetes, gout and cardiovascular disorders. But we buy these products when we are thirsty. If you always have a bottle of water on hand, you won't need sugary drinks.
3. You are simply protecting yourself from dehydration. Definitely a healthy solution.

3. Replace mayonnaise with mustard

Adding mayonnaise to sandwiches and salads is an understandable habit (it gives the dish an interesting taste and satiety), but harmful: the sauce contains too many calories and fat. If you want something that tastes bright, brush your sandwich bread with mustard.

Elaine Magee for WebMD Edition

Each sandwich made with a teaspoon of mustard instead of a tablespoon of mayonnaise will save you 100 extra calories and 11 grams of fat, including 1.5 grams of saturated fat 11 Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet.

In salads, mayonnaise can be replaced with lighter, but no less tasty sauces. For example, sour cream with mustard.

4. Add flaxseed to salads and yogurt

Flax seeds contain a huge amount of nutrients - from fiber to vitamins, trace elements and essential fatty acids. 11 Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet is enough for 2 tablespoons of this product in ground form to get an additional 4 g of fiber, 2.4 g of vegetable omega-3 fatty acids and some beneficial phytoestrogens (lignans).

Just do not grind flaxseeds into dust: while remaining large enough, they give the dish a light nutty flavor and crunch pleasantly. Even unsweetened Greek yogurt will be a favorite with this addition.

5. Stock up on healthy snacks

When you are hungry, you are more likely to eat the first thing that comes to hand and does not require cooking. Most often, these are cookies, chocolate bars, a slice of pizza or sausage - in general, unhealthy foods with a high calorie content and low nutritional value.

To break out of this vicious food cycle, prepare the right snacks. Nuts, a handful of raisins or other dried fruits, an apple cut into slices, baby carrots, slices of cheese, boiled eggs, natural yogurt - these are the options that will help you hold out until lunch or dinner with benefits for the body.

6. When purchasing products, use the "Outer Ring" technique

It was suggested by an American motivation specialist, author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits. How to Build Good Habits and Get Rid of Bad Habits James Clear. The essence of the technique is simple.

James Clear psychologist, motivation specialist, for his own blog

When I go to the grocery store, I only walk along the outer ring (perimeter) of the trading floor. Not in the ranks! The outer ring is usually home to healthy foods: fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, and nuts. Effortless Ways to Lose Weight and Eat Healthy.

This simple life hack, according to Clear, saves him from purchasing tasty but harmful packaged and processed foods. “And if you don’t buy such food, you will not be able to eat it,” the expert sums up.

It is not a fact that the supermarket you visit is organized according to the same principle. But you can pay attention to patterns - and avoid those aisles where junk food is offered.

7. Be sure to buy fruit

They should always be in your home. Even if you do not really like them (or definitely prefer candy to an apple). This is an axiom.

In fact, it takes very little to start eating fruit. Buy them, wash them, and place them in a vase on your kitchen or worktable. Most likely, by the evening at least half of the healthy, full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and trace elements will not be served.

8. Upgrade your favorite plate

It should have a small diameter and not be traditionally white or muted tones, but bright. Yellow, orange, blue, red - choose any of the cheerful colors. Whatever dish you put on this plate, you will eat less than usual.

This is an old trick, but it works. For two reasons at once.

Firstly, even a small portion of food on a small diameter plate looks impressive. And it deceives the brain. It seems to him that you have eaten a lot - and this leads Use small plates to lose weight to a very real feeling of satiety. This visual deception will help you eat objectively small meals and prevent overeating.

Second, according to a study on Color of your plates matters from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), people eat less food, the greater the color contrast between dishes and food. For example, we can eat light pasta from a white plate endlessly. But if we put them on a black surface, we will be satisfied with the minimum portion.

9. Do not deny yourself the pleasures

Proper nutrition is primarily about the ability to enjoy healthy foods. But if among the harmful ones there are those that you find it difficult to refuse, do not erase them from life once and for all.

If you try to completely eliminate, for example, chocolate or chips from your diet, eating right will become a burden for you. And the brain will find a thousand reasons to jump off of it. Your task is to prevent this from happening.

Allow yourself the same chocolate - but only in the morning, a few squares under a cup of green tea. Or chips: they can be crumbled a little and added to a vegetable salad. Literally a tablespoon of a harmful product will be enough, and the dish will acquire a completely new taste, so beloved by you. Life with proper nutrition will definitely become easier and more fun.

This material was first published in October 2013. In January 2021, we updated the text.