Eat Smart!

Being healthy begins with learning how to eat smart! Learning the habits of healthy eating can improve your health by boosting your energy, sharpening your memory, and stabilizing your mood. These tips will help you expand your range of healthy food choices, and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a satisfying, healthy diet.

1) Take small steps. Approach your new diet in small manageable steps as opposed to a drastic change. By making small steps to your diet, like baking food instead of frying it or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking will greaten your chances of successfully transitioning to a healthier eating style.

2) Moderation is key. Despite what certain diets have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body. By reducing portion sizes or not eating certain pleasure foods as often, eventually you will find yourself craving them less or thinking of them only as occasional indulgences. Visual cues can help with portion sizes as well. Use smaller plates or cut measurements in half when cooking from a recipe.

3) It’s not just what you eat, it’s how you eat. It is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down. Listen to your body. Ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” It may be hard, but try to stop eating before you feel full. Eat slowly so you can appreciate the food. Also, eating a healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day can keep your energy up and metabolism going.

Remember, eating healthy is the first start to improving your overall lifestyle! When you start by changing your diet, you then become motivated to begin changing all aspects of your life to a much healthier one!