5 Tips on Maintaining Healthy Eating Habits

Hey friends,  

Many of you may have set a goal to become a healthier version of yourself. If you didn’t, maybe you should consider it. What does it mean to be healthy? Some people confuse healthy with weight loss thinking the number on the scale defines their health. Yes, being in shape usually is a result of becoming a healthier individual but it isn’t the same thing. To be healthy involves more than just our physical shape or illnesses but also our mental and spiritual well-being. I am a true believer in creating healthy habits for ourselves in order to lead a more wholesome life. Food, believe it or not is at the center of all of this! What you eat will actually affect you in several ways so it is important to get into healthy eating habits. 

I am going to provide 5 tips for you on how to achieve this in detail. 

1) Plan ahead– you are more than likely to eat better when meals are planned ahead of time and groceries for those meals are already in your pantry. That way there are no excuses. Dedicate a day to make a tentative meal plan for the coming week that is nutritious and easy to put together then stock the pantry up with the ingredients needed. Time is always of the essence. This method allows for less temptation to make a heavy carb dish like pasta when coming back from work since its super easy. You can check my social media (IG) on Sunday’s where I post my meal plan ideas for the week that are low carb and absolutely delicious if you need some inspiration. 

2) Stay hydrated– I am sure you have heard this plenty of times but make sure to drink water! Studies say we should drink about eight 8oz glasses of water a day (Mayocilinic). How many of us actually do that? If plain water is too boring for you then add a slice of a lemon which will give it some flavor and help detox your system. I highly recommend cutting out juices and soda from your household slowly. Those beverages are filled with artificial sugars and are bad for our health physically & mentally. There are many alternatives in the market now for natural juices. I also suggest limiting the amount of dairy & sugar you put in your coffee or tea.  

3) What you bring in to your home matters Make it a point to check the nutritional facts on the products you purchase. You really should know what you are bringing into your household. Spend the extra time grocery shopping to ensure you are bringing nutritious wholesome items home. If you think about it, we spend a lot of time doing leisure things but when it comes to simple tasks like grocery shopping we want to rush. Don’t bring home junk. I am sure you know this in the back of your head but many of us may still bring it home regardless. I am talking about chips, cookies, cake, and frozen pizzas. Those do nothing good for you. They are so low in nutritional value that they are considered JUNK. Who wants junk in their body?? If you are a chip lover like me, get them baked or popcorn for instance. If you love dessert, there plenty of recipes for sweets using honey or maple syrup in place of artificial processed sugars. On my blog, you will find plenty! Try my banana bread, zucchini blueberry muffins, or even my mango mousse. You won’t believe how good they taste and they are good for you too! 

4) Eat often– Did you know the more you eat during the day the more your metabolism speeds up and burns calories? Sounds crazy, right? Now, this doesn’t mean go have 6 huge meals a day that are full of carbs. This means have your 3 main meals and 3 snacks in between them keeping mindful to eat nutritious meals like I have been mentioning. For example, for breakfast, you can have an avocado toast then 2 hours later maybe snack on a handful of nuts that are rich in fiber and vitamins.  

5) Create a healthy eating plate for yourself– time to give you a realistic idea of what your healthy eating plate should like after all these tips are said and done. Half of your plate should be vegetables and even fruits mixed in if you would like. The other half is divided between a healthy protein like chicken breast, steak, beans or fish and whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa. You can do without the grains and just have a protein and veggies for dinner and some sort of sauce to tie it together. Cook using olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil as opposed to butter. 

Keep in mind all these tips should be implemented slowly into your daily life. No one is expected to toss everything they know out the window and just start brand new. It’s a progression; remember you are doing this for you and your loved ones. Your overall health is always number one. Therefore, make sure to prioritize it. As you just learned, changing your eating habits will improve your standard of living.  

Any questions, feel free to reach out to me through my social media. 

See you next time! 

Sincerely,  

Heifa from Fufu’s Kitchen