Many of us have tried losing weight, dieting, being healthier and many of us have incredibly failed at it (me included). Most of the times, we failed because we didn’t make the best choices regarding food. And it is soooo difficult! Making healthy choices is one of the most difficult things in the world! But why does it have to be so difficult? It is just not fair! But we can’t change anything by just complaining so, here are some tips to make making healthier choices easier.
Focus on your goals and be inspired
This is easier said than done, but if you’re constantly reminding yourself of your goals, you’ll be more likely to achieve them. For example, I like to follow a lot of Instagram accounts about healthy food and fit inspiration. And whenever I scroll through Instagram I just see healthy food and people working out. There are also a lot of apps that send you reminders throughout the day. For staying hydrated, my favorite app is “My Water“, it reminds me to drink enough water every day.
Keep yourself on track
This one kinda goes along with focusing on your goals. Something that can be annoying but also helpful is to track the foods you eat for the first couple weeks or even months. This will help you get to know what you’re actually eating. You’ll know the amount of sugar, protein, calories, carbs… you’re eating on a daily basis.
Depending on your diet, there are apps to help you keep track of this. For those doing the Keto or low-carb diet, the best app is Carb Manager. There’s also My Fitness Pal, Noom Coach and others.
Know what you’re eating
By this, I don’t mean you should focus on calories but on the ingredients. It is really incredible we sometimes don’t know what we are actually eating. Many foods may seem healthy but really aren’t. A lot of foods that are labeled “low calorie” and therefore perceived as healthy or good for weight loss have lots of chemicals which is bad for you. So, try to be more aware of what the foods you eat are made of.
Make healthy swaps
Just replace something unhealthy by something healthy. For example, replace rice with couscous or quinoa. Or replace white bread with 100% whole grain bread. The swaps you could make are endless, but to start, here are some ideas of foods you could swap.
Portions
Deciding to live a healthy life doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of the food you love most. As I mentioned above, I love pasta and fries with all my heart, I sincerely couldn’t live without them. By depriving yourself of something you love, the only thing you’re going to achieve is to make yourself unhappy. So, if you’re craving something really bad, just eat it! But keep portions in mind, for example, eat a small plate of pasta with a bowl of salad. If you’re eating something unhealthy eat it with something healthy on the side.
Plan ahead
Make a meal plan for the week, the month, the semester, it doesn’t matter, just make a meal plan. But be realistic, don’t plan to eat just salad an entire week, if you know you wouldn’t even survive a day on a diet like that (Personal experience). Instead, make small changes in your diet. Small steps lead to bigger changes. But making a meal plan is just a waste of time if you don’t stick to it. So try your best to stick to it. The more realistic your meal plan is, the easier it will be.
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