If you actually write down what you are eating on a daily basis, you probably will drop your jaw in horror. We never think to add up the little snack size candy bar here and the 2 cookies to actually see the major impact it is having on our diets. The best way to achieve a healthy lifestyle, as far as our diets go, is eating more fruits and vegetables. We all know it, so why do we head for the potato chips isle in the grocery store instead of the produce section?
Basically it comes down to this. Junk foods trigger our appetite and leave us longing for more. Ever wonder why eating one little innocent Cheez-it leads to eating half a box? One taste triggers your body to want to keep eating. Now if you could condition yourself to do that with red grapes, we could achieve that healthy lifestyle. It may be difficult to do, but not impossible. Here are 5 ways to condition yourself to make healthier snack choices.
Healthy Eating Habits #1: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
If you do not have junk food in your kitchen, you will not eat it. It really is that simple. I am the type of person who needs something to eat while I watch my nightly movie, and I tend to grab the bad stuff. The only times I do not is when I can not. Do your grocery shopping right after you have eaten a huge meal so you will not be hungry for bad foods, but rather good foods. Leave the store without any junk food but with plently of fruits and vegetables. Your purse and your belly will thank you in the long run.
Healthy Eating Habits #2: Add Fruits And Vegetables To Your Dishes
Sometimes it is not easy to sit down with a few strawberries without the chocolate dip. You crave something bad. That is the trigger food calling out to you but you need not answer. Cut the strawberries up and add them to a bowl of cereal. Throw in a few blueberries and raisins. Just remember to use skim milk and keep the sugar in the cupboard. Fruit has enough natural sweetness all by itself. Think of it as natural candy.
When was the last time you got excited about eating carrot and celery sticks without dipping sauce? Probably never, but that does not mean you never will. Add them to a small salad when you want a snack. No, you can not drown it all in fatty blue cheese dressing. That is the same thing as dip, is it not? A little bit of vinagrette dressing is what your mind should be thinking of.
Healthy Eating Habits #3: Make A Compromise
If you are following the American Diet, your palette now craves high salt and high sugar foods. Quitting is almost never successful when it is done cold turkey. People think they need to stop all the bad stuff all at once and then 3 days later they burn out and revert to bad habits. Being healthy is not about missing out on the foods you love. If you want pizza, eat a slice with a bowl of fruit salad instead of french fries. If you want Cheeze-Its, eat a handful with a handful of grapes instead of half the cheez-It box. Ease into it and slowly change your eating habits for the better.
Healthy Eating Habits #4: Load Up On Liquids
Many times we confuse hunger with thirst. You think you are starving until you drink a nice refreshing glass of water. Then your stomach feels a little more full and you have not added more calories on to your waist line. If you remember to drink liquids fairly often, you will probably find yourself not even thinking you are hungry anymore. So with that in mind, the next time you are afraid of ordering too much fettuccine Alfredo at your favorite Italian restaurant, drink a tall glass of water before you order. You might feel like passing that for a nice crisp salad with shrimp or chicken.
Healthy Eating Habits #5: Take A Supplement
Sometimes we get busy in our lives and might have the best intentions to eat healthy, but can not always find healthy foods to eat. Most vending machines do not offer carrot and celery sticks, unfortunately. One way around this is to take a daily supplement that gives you all the nutrition you would get if you did eat lots of fruits and vegetables. This does not mean you should take them and continue eating snickers bars all day long, mind you. Junk is still junk.
Eating fruits and vegetables may not be something you are used to, but just like anything else, it takes some getting used to. Use the tips above to make the transition easier, but do not think like a cheater. Cheaters never prosper and if it were easy, everyone would be walking around fit and trim. Living a healthy lifestyle means making healthy choices. The more you do it, the healthier you will be.
