Yeah, yeah, it’s January and I have fitness goals. But if you remember from this post on my intentions for the year, you know I want health to be on the forefront. Food and what we eat is so important for staying (getting) healthy. So I’m sharing 5 Tips for Eating Healthy that have helped me lose and keep off 10 pounds in the past year.
1} Eat a vegetable with breakfast
It may not seem like a big deal but I find that when I start my day with a veg or two, I tend to eat better the rest of the day. Lately, I’m into zucchini cakes. They go great with eggs and bacon. I really do find that I crave sugar less throughout the day when I have a more savory breakfast. This might not be the case for you but it’s worth a try.
2} Eat lean protein including more fish
Ever since I tried going Keto for several weeks back in the summer, I crave beef. This can get tricky because beef can be fatty. But I’ve noticed that for me, beef tends to keep me full. While I may have beef about twice a week, I try to incorporate leaner cuts into my diet. For instance, when we have taco Tuesday, I use an 85% lean blend. That’s about as lean as I go without sacrificing flavor but you can go as high as 96% lean if you can find it.
To keep my protein consumption balanced, I obviously I eat a lot of chicken, pork and fish. When cooking, I tend to use Old Bay, Lemon Pepper, and Tony Chachere’s for seasoning my proteins. I’ve also started cooking more with my Young Living Vitality oils like Sage. Lots of flavor variety helps keep me from getting bored with eating chicken and fish a lot.
3} Hop on the celery juice bandwagon
You’ve heard about celery juice right? It has many benefits and I had to add it to my tips for eating healthy this year. A lot of people juice their own but I am lazy or as I like to refer to it, hyper efficient, ha! It is highly unlikely that I will ever buy a bunch of celery and juice it myself. Especially since I still don’t own a blender. Note to self – buy a dang blender!
I digress. Point is, I like Suja green juices with celery juice. They just make me feel healthy and like I’m detoxing a bit. Check out their site here for some of the benefits of celery juice and their other juices. Also – not sponsored. I just like the ease of buying green juice at the grocery and the Suja juices I’ve had are pretty tasty and I like the ingredients.
I also like to drink Apple Cider Vinegar tonic. See here for a simple recipe. I haven’t had this too much lately but I’m making it today so there! If you do juice your own celery, you might try adding it to an ACV tonic and playing around with your own recipe.
4} Have some will power
Duh, but seriously. Stop eating so much. I know this is hard. Trust me, I know. I love food and I certainly love to eat! However, really try to practice logical portion control. You are not going to starve if you eat a little less than normal. Your body will get used to it and eventually, you won’t be as hungry. Out to eat? Well save some food for later and get a doggy bag!
If you need a snack, make sure it is portioned correctly. You do not need to eat 400 in calories for a snack. That is asking for weight gain. Listen, you are an adult. You make really serious adult decisions everyday, you keep your children safe, you navigate crazy traffic. Surely, you can decide to only have 2 Oreos and not the entire sleeve or God forbid, the entire package.
#Treatchoself
Deprivation is not my thing. Although, I do have willpower, I like to keep things reasonable. As referenced above, eat 2 Oreos if you are really craving them but don’t eat 5. And if you are celebrating something, then celebrate. Eat cake but don’t eat all the cake.
Yes, sometimes eating sugar can lead to opening the floodgates of more sugar cravings. But if you’ve already proven to yourself you can cut down the sugar, you can do it again. As for me, I’m going to have a glass of wine or a cocktail if I really feel I need it or just really want it. Sometimes, my sanity depends on it, ha! But I try really hard to reign in my cravings after I indulge.
In closing, I want to make sure everyone knows I am not a doctor, or a nutritionist or a diet expert. Again, duh. But for some reason you really have to put disclaimers on everything today. Ugh. These are just some simple tips to keep me eating healthy. And of course we all know by now to drink lots of water, cut down on processed foods, stay away from simple carbs, and exercise, right??!!
Please share any tips or personal hacks you have that help keep your diet under control. Do you only eat during certain hours or only eat certain foods on certain days? I’d love to hear more about your habits and how you plan on eating better.
Thank you so much for reading and sharing. I hope you have a great day!