Daily restlessness forces us to do several activities at the same time. Be it work, study, housework, babysitting, caring for pets, visiting parents, going to the market, meetings, phew! There are so many compromises that can end up hampering our attention to what we eat. At the same time, the large supply of food makes it difficult for our body to choose quality. So it’s good to receive some tips for healthy eating habits, find out how to get good nutrition and how small changes can help you feed yourself better, regain peace and enjoy eating.
First, what are healthy eating habits? You will hear many people say that it is about eating in 3’s or every 3 hours, having x number of daily meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner and maybe several snacks. Others will say that it depends on the colors of the food, having a colorful dish is ideal. There are those who adhere to miracle diets that teach you the most varied restrictions as the correct way to healthy eating habits. And what I’m going to tell you may change your way of looking at food: forget about this advice, relax and listen to your body.
Yes that’s right. Your body has a setting that tells you when it’s time to eat, when it’s full, if you need to hydrate. The rule of three daily meals is very simplistic considering the various body types. The way I eat may be very different from your way, and even then, we’ll both have good nutrition.
The principle for healthy eating habits is to have a varied and balanced diet according to the nutrients you need throughout the day. That’s why your routine, your weight, your lifestyle interfere with what is necessary for your body. Just imagine, you run 3km daily, you are the mother of a 5 year old, you work, and you still have time to do a doctorate. Now, compare this to your friend who is 22 years old, not a mother, goes to college, still has no job, and doesn’t have to do household chores. Her needs are completely different. This also occurs among children, men and pregnant women. This makes it clearer to understand the complexity of this type of discussion.
But now Sophie, what are some tips for healthy eating habits?
The principle of healthy eating is to choose the foods that will make up your meals. Always try to opt for truer, less industrialized or processed foods. If you can, why not cook your own meals? This will ensure better choices and a chance to include less sodium, sugars and fats than is found in a ready-made meal, increasing the quality of what you ingest.
Healthy eating involves quality content and variety. Yes, find out how to balance your meals with fruits, vegetables, greens, natural yogurts, nuts, carbohydrates and proteins, taking full advantage of everything that nature provides us. And drink more water to allow your body to be well hydrated. We often confuse hunger with thirst, we end up eating more, when in fact our bodies are asking for water.
Tips for healthy eating habits: Enjoy your meals
Usually we have a lunch hour. This gives us enough time to enjoy our food, to savor it. But what do we do? We swallow everything in a hurry, we split our time between messenger services, TV, social networks, things to keep in touch with people and we forget those who are there with us. Yes, it’s very complex. We focus on what’s far away and we ignore what’s in front of us. This makes us miss the present and conscious moment and even the pleasure of eating, we fail to taste what we’re eating.
As I said, each person has a body that depends on a number of nutrients, proteins, fibers and vitamins to function. Added to this, there can be cardiac or diabetic problems, or pregnancy, just so you have an idea of how complex human nutrition can be. Therefore, today we’re going to look at an individual’s diet in general and not only in terms of meals and nutrients. What also matters is the standard of the nutrition, it’s regularity and its quality.
As you go along you can adopt several tips that will contribute to improving your nutrition. This will help in the proper functioning of your body, which is ideal for disease prevention.
Tips for healthy eating habits
- Try to include a variety of foods in your meals
- Increase real foods and reduce processed, industrialized foods
- Decrease frying
- Eat slowly and chew food thoroughly at each meal
- Interact with people at the table
- Enjoy your meals
- Look for quality, tasty foods
- If you can, eat more homemade food.
- Learn to listen to your body: differentiate hunger, thirst and other sensations
A good diet doesn’t mean a perfect diet, it plays a fundamental role in our quality of life and also helps to reach a balanced weight. Adopting a healthy diet will make you a happier and healthier person. Stay away from dietary restrictions, from all nutritional terrorism.
Have you already heard about the Sophie Effect?
It’s a program I created which includes six weeks of videos and materials that will explain eating habits, and how you can regain the pleasure of eating. Check it out!
Now that you know these tips for healthy eating habits, did you know you can lose weight without dieting? And discover the 5 steps to mindful eating!
