10 Tips To Eat Healthier This Year
If you’ve been anywhere near social media or even the internet over the past few weeks, you’ll no doubt have seen tens, if not hundreds of posts and articles on the best ways to lose weight.
Vowing to eat healthier and be better versions of ourselves should not just happen at the start of the year. We believe that people have the right to feel they deserve better for themselves all year round. And with the right tools and right mindset, we can all lead healthier lifestyles, January through to December.
So if you are at a stage where you’re looking to make some great changes to your diet and overall health, look no further than these top ten tips to get you off to an awesome start.
1. PLAN YOUR MEALS IN ADVANCE
Yes, it may seem like effort and hard work but the more prepared you are, the less likely you are to make a last-minute choice you’re likely to regret. At the beginning of the week, have a think what you want to eat each day. Make a list of the ingredients you need and either add them to your delivery or head to the supermarket and stock up.
For the super-organised, you could even start batch cooking and freezing. Spending an hour or two of your free time doing this can save you both time and later regret.
2. KEEP YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE HIGH
Protein is key to weight loss. It takes longer to digest and keeps you fuller for longer. Aim to include protein in every meal and it’ll stop you over-indulging on higher calorie food when you start to get hungry. Great sources of protein are your lean meats and fish, but also consider eggs, Eatlean cheese and SKYR yoghurts as your go-to options. If you follow a vegan diet, include a range of pulses and legumes into your meal plans.
3. EAT FIBRE-RICH FOODS
Much like protein, a diet high in fibre will help you feel fuller for longer. Along with its ability to improve digestion, fibre has been proven to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Consider foods like beans, lentils, whole grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts. And when to comes to your vegetables, aim to include as much colour as possible to get the widest range of nutrients. Picture a rainbow and aim to replicate it on your plate.
4. EAT AT THE TABLE, NOT ON THE GO
One of the easiest ways to gain weight is to eat mindlessly. Eating in front of the tv and in the car are both recipes for disaster when it comes to weight gain. And guess what? Eating mindlessly usually involves snack foods which are packed with calories and not much else… Eating at the table with no distractions allows you to concentrate on what you are actually consuming.
5. DELETE YOUR TAKEAWAY APPS
This takes discipline! But try it for a month. And unsubscribe from the tempting food delivery emails if you struggle with temptation. You can always re-subscribe for the odd treat. In the meantime, making your own “fakeaways” can be hugely rewarding (not to mention calorie-saving and money-saving).
6. COOK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN FROM SCRATCH
The more you can prepare yourself, the more control you have over what goes into your food. And this leads to better education of what you are actually consuming. Start to look at the ingredients listed – it’s amazing how much you can learn from taking control in the kitchen.
7. CONSIDER THE SIZE OF YOUR DINNER PLATE
It may come as no surprise that the size of an average dinner plate has become a lot bigger over the years. And so have we! Study after study has shown that the more food we are given, the more we’ll consume whether or not we are full. So think about eating off a smaller plate. And while we’re at it, look at the size of your glass when having a drink. You’ll consume less from a tall glass than an enormous gin glass (or is it a bucket?)
8. KEEP YOUR DIET VARIED
We all settle into a routine of different foods that we enjoy, but sometimes it’s a good thing to open our minds (and tastebuds) and try something new. The more diverse our diet, the less likely we’ll be to finish our dinner and open the fridge looking to see what we can have next and we’ll be better satiated both physically and mentally.
9. EASY ON THE JUNK!
If we cut out things all together from our diets, it can lead to cravings and sometimes even bingeing. So whilst around 80% of your diet should be made from great, whole foods, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the odd treat. A small square of chocolate or glass of wine can be incorporated into your calorie range quite easily whilst keeping a lid on any cravings.
10. DON’T BE A HERMIT
We’ve just spend the best part of two years being locked down, so the last thing we want to do is refuse invitations to go out because we’re trying to lose weight or be healthier. There are plenty of ways we can enjoy ourselves without undoing all our hard work. A really good piece of advice is to plan ahead. Have a look at the restaurant’s menu online before you go out and think what would be a good choice for you. Can you just have a main course and a starter or dessert (rather than both). And swapping your normal sodas for a diet version will save you calories as well. Making the right choice can still allow us to go out and enjoy ourselves – and surely that’s what life is all about?
For more great tips & advice on how you can eat healthily this year, visit our Healthy Recipes Hub
