The road to healthy eating isn’t always easy. It’s often filled with confusion, misinformation, and too much restriction. But it’s an important journey to take.
Eating a healthy diet is important for so many reasons. It can help us to maintain a healthy weight, it fuels us throughout our busy days, and it helps to boost the immune system and prevent all sorts of not-so-nice diseases. Hence why it makes up such a significant part of our overall health.
So, you’d like to eat healthier, but the puzzle of how to start eating healthy still remains a difficult one for you to solve. Not to worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on for everything you need to know.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
The first thing to acknowledge is that everyone is different, and what constitutes a healthy diet for one person might spell disaster for the next. For example, we’re told to eat as many different types of vegetables as possible, but those following a low FODMAP diet need to avoid certain kinds. Likewise, we’re told that things such as wholegrain bread and oatmeal are healthy choices, but to someone with a gluten intolerance, nothing could be further from the truth.
So, the first step toward healthy eating will involve determining whether there are any foods you shouldn’t be eating. If you feel unwell after eating certain foods, try to avoid them. You can also take tests with your doctor to see if you have any allergies or intolerances.
A Balanced and Healthy Lifestyle
The next thing to remember is that many attempts at healthy eating fail because a person will be too restrictive and try to cut out certain “bad” foods entirely. This is setting yourself up for failure. Instead, take small steps toward creating a healthier diet and you’ll find the change much easier.
There are some general rules you can follow. First, try to cut down your intake of saturated fat. This is found in things such as butter, red meat, cheese, doughnuts, and french fries.
You can still have these foods from time to time, but they should be an occasional treat rather than a daily staple. Next, try to up your intake of nutritionally dense foods. Nuts, avocados, fish, and green veggies are all great sources of nutrients that are also healthy choices.
Variety: the Spice of Life
One of the biggest keys to a healthy diet is variety. You should be eating different types of foods each day in order to get different minerals and nutrients into your body. Trying to eat as much fresh, non processed food as possible is a great goal. Why not try a green grocer instead of the prepackaged stuff in your local supermarket next time you’re in need of fruits and veggies?
Variety will also help to keep things interesting, so you don’t get bored of your new diet, and fall back on old bad habits. Keep things interesting, but keep them healthy, too!
How to Start Eating Healthy: a Guide
It can be confusing to know exactly how to start eating healthy. So keep things simple: eat more fruits and veggies and less fried foods, maintain a good variety, and treat yourself—but only every once in a while. If you’ve enjoyed this guide, don’t forget to take a look at the rest of our content.
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