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Tips for Healthy Eating
by Aaron Dorksen
Your mom told you. You’ve read the articles. These are tips you’ve already heard a million times, but now they’re gathered together in one place. If you need help making better decisions about your diet, print this list out and keep it in a place where you’re likely to look at it every day.
1 Eat a good breakfast – It will start you off to a productive day and actually help you eat less the rest of the day.
2 Don’t go to the grocery store hungry – It will be a lot easier to leave the potato chips and Ho-Hos on the shelf if you eat a hearty meal before you leave the house. Seriously, it’s embarrassing to think about what my shopping cart has looked like when I’ve walked into the store hungry.
3 Don’t keep junk food in the house – This follows up No. 2. If you shop smart, and there’s no junk food in your house, you won’t be as tempted to eat food that’s bad for you.
4 Put your fork down between bites – If you slow down at meals, you’ll consume fewer calories. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to get the signal from the stomach that it’s full. So come up for air and talk more during dinner.
5 Drink eight or more glasses of water a day – The benefits are really almost endless – including it will help fill you up.
6 Reduce salt from your diet – You’d be shocked how much salt is in the food we eat. Lately my wife and I have been reading labels and choosing items that have less salt. Even seemingly healthy frozen food meals can have huge differences in salt levels. And guess what – salty foods don’t satisfy hunger. They make you hungrier.
7 Cut way back on sugar, too – Sugar produces insulin, which causes the body to store fat.
8 Stop drinking soda, including diet pop – The biggest and easiest sugar source to cut out is soda. It’s tough if you’re hooked, but try to switch to water, hundred per cent fruit juice, or even unsweetened instant ice tea mix.
9 Load up on raw fruits and vegetables – They’re good for you, they’ll satisfy your appetite, they’ll help you stay regular, and once you’re into the fruit and veggie habit, you’ll crave them just like you now maybe crave the bad stuff.
10 Cut back on restaurant meals – Here’s your shocking stat of the day: restaurant meals average about 750-850 more calories than meals cooked at home. Side benefit – you’ll save a lot of money eating at home.
11 Limit alcohol to weekends – This is a good habit to start and will really help you trim down.
12 Drink sparkling water in between alcohol – When you do drink, if you mix in something non-alcoholic, like sparkling water or water, it will cut the calories about in half.
13 Get plenty of fiber– Eating high-fiber will also help fill you up and stay regular. And we all want that.
14 If you screw up, don’t throw in the towel – Everybody goes off the regimen from time to time. It’s only human. When you do, don’t give up. Get right back on track the next day.
At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.net
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