What types of healthy eating habits that you can do that are easy to accomplish. I must admit eating properly all the time is difficult. We don’t have the time, we are in a rush, healthy food is expensive, or we don’t know what foods are good for us. healthy food. These are all excuses that we are used to giving or hearing.
Throughout my years in health care as a Chiropractor, Athletic Therapist and a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, these are the top tips, in no particular order, which I have found to be excellent pearls of wisdom. I have simplified the tips because it is better to keep your diet simple than complex. Remember; do not get caught up with the fads at the time. Keep it simple. Do your best to follow the Canada food guide.
Incorporating these healthy eating tips will help you achieve better health. To accomplish these tips you must pre-plan and know what and when you are going to be eating. Take a day or two each week to prepare your food for the week and freeze what you can. This simplifies your week. It also means that when you are hungry you can quickly grab something from the freezer and heat it up. That means that it will take you 2 minutes rather than 20 minutes to prepare your food for that meal. Plus you won’t have to do as many dishes either.
If you find that purchasing healthy food is too expensive try purchasing your food when it is on sale and stock up on it. The cost of eating unhealthy food may end up being more expensive when you have to start paying for that medication to help lower your high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Take time and plan ahead with your purchasing. Remember, without a plan failure will happen.
Here are my favorite tips that I like to give to my patients.
- Eat slowly
- Eat to 80% full
- A regular meal pattern including breakfast consumption, consuming a higher proportion of energy early in the day, reduced meal frequency (i.e., 2⁻3 meals/day), and regular fasting periods may provide physiological benefits such as reduced inflammation, improved circadian rhythm, increased autophagy and stress resistance, and modulation of the gut microbiota.
- Eat one to two servings of vegetables or fruit on each meal. Pick from all the different colors available. Consider supplementing with a “Greens” product.
- Drink plenty or water or green tea approximately 8 cups a day. Avoid fruit juices and other sugar filled beverages.
- Minimize the consumption of simple/refined sugar and starchy foods until after moderate to strenuous exercise
- Eat a “complete protein” at each meal such as egg, milk, poultry, beans, fish etc.
- Consume essential fatty acids daily (Omega 3s) such as fish or fish oil supplements.
- Have a Multi-vitamin daily
- Choose whole foods rather than processed foods
- Choose whole foods that are high in fibre
- Chose whole grains as opposed to whole wheat.
- Avoid foods that are fried or contain trans fatty acids, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
- Don’t worry about cheating every once in awhile.
Don’t try and do this all at once. Take one tip and practice it for the next 3 weeks and then add another tip.
Original document was created May 2010. Updated January 2 2020.
Originally posted on May 17, 2022 @ 4:39 pm