Healthy Eating Habits
Earlier this year, I wrote a post discussing my struggles with a healthy diet. Four months have passed, giving me opportunities to slowly regain fractions of my old, astonishingly productive lifestyle.
My dieting journey has shown itself to me as a staircase I need to ascend. It takes months to climb up a couple of steps, but I slip and am scared to place another foot forward. I was in an awful place in my relationship with food once this year began, and my "big goals" suddenly crumbled into wads of paper with meaningless words.
So what approaches helped me improve?
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My interest in dieting has helped me learn so much about my body and how to take care of myself. I know it's not great to snack a few hours before bedtime, and I know I shouldn't drink creamy desserts because it's hard on my digestive system. However, it's increasingly difficult to listen to myself if I'm hungry, upset, or in a craving-mood for ice cream.
With all of the tedious changes I need to make in my life, restricting myself too much results in the familiar song of giving up. So whether it takes you years to figure out what you need to change, here are the habits I have grown that have helped me stick to a solid meal plan every day.
Stop eating before bed
In some instances, drinking a glass of warm milk or snacking on low-sodium treats can help with hunger strikes before the lights go off. Nevertheless, eating a few hours before I hit the bed makes it ten times harder to fall asleep, and I wake up feeling icky and unwilling to eat breakfast—even though it's the meal I'm supposed to be eating. Along with that, it isn't beneficial for weight loss.
That said, I tend to brush my teeth by nine o'clock to ensure that it's not easy and tempting for me to run off to the cabinet and grab chips. Just a little life hack for you.
Remembering the weight loss and weight gain rule
In truth, your weight isn't the main highlight of a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, creating weight goals relies on healthy diets the most. When I'm feeling motivated to drop a number on the scale or build muscle, I remember the main key to dieting and exercise, which is to:
Burn more calories than you consume to lost weight. The opposite goes for weight gain.
Sticking to this rule is a challenge, but it paints a clearer image for me to work with when planning out what will go on my plate each day.
Eating slower helps to eat less
Maybe your goal for a healthy diet isn't to eat less, and that's totally fine. But for me, eating slower doesn't only help with restricting how much I eat but also with bloating. Who wants to be bloated every time they enjoy a hearty meal? There are many steps to slowing down your consumption speed, but the next time you have a humongous dish in front of you, resist the hungry urge to chow down every last bit of the meal, and take your time to enjoy it. Trust me, it helps.
Adjust your portions
This habit is nothing new to anyone who has searched up, "how to lose weight" in their google search bar. Try searching for a smaller (but not unreasonably tiny) plate in your pantry. You'll be amazed at how satisfied you might feel after you are tricked into seeing a normally full plate of food, even if it's half a size smaller.
Drink water if a sweet craving forms
I always have my glass bottle of water with me after a workout every day, and it has helped me a great deal. After dinner, or if I'm too hungry to wait for a meal, I have an immense craving for chocolate or cake. Even if I'm not hungry, I'll head to the fridge and steal a snicker bar just to feel fulfilled.
But the truth is, after fifteen minutes, I always wish I hadn't eaten it.
Chewing a piece of sugar-free gum helps, but doesn't do the trick when it comes to the burning craving. What I do is chug a glass of water to fill my stomach until dessert is out of the picture. It leaves me feeling full, all the while benefiting my metabolism.
Start a food journal
Without the help of my personal experience with dieting, I wouldn't have been able to look over the habits that can be life-changing for those who want to alter their eating habits. When I'm assigned persuasive or free writing projects, my first thoughts are already on discussing dieting. I have grown a passion for this subject, and I could write about it for days.
The last tip for healthy habits I have is to start a food journal. This, by far, is the most time-consuming habit that requires a little bit of a commitment. Harness your inner creativity or simply take out a sheet of lined paper, and track everything you eat every day. I have been journaling for quite a while, so I go to the limits
of including my calorie intake every day, exercise rates, water intake, and moods.
I will talk later about formats that work for me when journaling, but to get started, I suggest including:
A weekly meal plan.
Your favorite/want to try recipes.
A food tracker split into four categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
-Chloe