Eating healthy is one of the most important things you can do for your health and body.
A healthy diet can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like stroke, and diabetes, and it keeps your blood sugar levels in check, etc.
It is also an effective way to help you lose weight and keep the pounds off, which is why it’s a crucial part of every weight loss journey.
Healthy eating is more than dieting and more about making healthy food choices and healthy lifestyle adjustments.
Healthy eating without dieting can also make you focus more on your overall wellness, eat based on your physical cues, and follow a sustainable food plan.
That’s why I’m sharing practical ways to help you eat healthy while enjoying your food.
Healthy Eating Without Dieting
Eating More Protein
Protein is very important for your health. It helps build muscle mass, which is obviously important not only for getting toned but for your health in general.
It has also been proven that eating more protein helps you with weight loss. So if that’s your goal, definitely find ways to include more protein in your diet.
For breakfast, you can eat eggs, since they’re packed with protein. Then for lunch and dinner, choose a protein source and add some sides to it – chicken, beef, tofu, fish, etc.
Eating More Fiber
Another important thing to include in your diet for healthy eating is fiber. Fiber helps with digestion, bowel movement, and reduces the risks of heart diseases.
It also helps with weight loss, as it can lower your appetite.
Fruits and veggies are packed with fiber, so eating more of them in your diet is an easy way to up your fiber.
You can drink smoothies, eat soups, salads, and grill them as sides for your protein.
Drinking Water Regularly
Eating healthy foods is obviously crucial for weight loss, but you can’t forget about water. Drinking lots of water regularly is extremely important for your health.
If drinking enough water is something you struggle with, there are a few ways you can start drinking more.
One way is to get a big bottle, fill it with water, and keep it next to you all the time. That way, you always have water next to you, so it will be easier to remember to drink it.
Another way is to set reminders on your phone or download an app that reminds you to drink water.
Eliminating Sugary Drinks
Foods and drinks with added sugars are something you should definitely avoid. While we often think about the food we eat, we tend to forget about drinks.
Sugary drinks are not healthy, and they’re definitely something you should avoid.
It’s an easy step towards your healthy lifestyle goals.
Eating Less Processed Foods
You want your diet to mostly consist of nutrient-dense foods. Processed foods don’t have much to offer for your health, and it’s much better to swap processed foods with whole foods – foods that fuel your body.
Opting For Healthy Fats
Many people start avoiding fats when trying to lose weight or when starting to eat healthier.
However, your body actually needs healthy fats to function well.
So, instead of avoiding fats completely, start eating HEALTHY fats. Avocados, olive oil, nuts, etc. All of those are considered healthy fats, and should be a part of your diet.
Yes, they can be high-calorie, so you don’t want to eat too, too much, but incorporating them in meals is definitely fine. No matter if your goal is healthy weight loss or healthy weight gain, include healthy fats in your meal plan.
Making Food At Home
Making food at home whenever you can is not only good for your budget, but for your health as well.
There are different reasons for that.
First of all, when ordering food or eating out, we often go for fast food. It’s usually more affordable, and quicker to get.
Secondly, when you don’t make food yourself, you don’t actually know all of the ingredients in it, and you don’t know if it’s really healthy or not. Something that might seem healthy, can actually be filled with too many fats (and often not the healthy ones), processed stuff, and sugars.
So, making food at home ensures you know exactly what’s in each dish, and how healthy it is.
Eating All Food Groups
Your body needs all of the important food groups and all of the nutrients. It needs protein, fiber, healthy fats, healthy carbs, whole grains, etc.
If you JUST focus on eating more protein, for example, you might forget about other food groups your body needs.
So when coming up with dishes, find ways to include all nutrients in them.
Eating More Fruits And Vegetables
This is probably the most obvious tip, but it has to be written.
Eating more fruits and veggies is crucial for healthy eating. You should include them in all of your meals – sometimes as main parts of the meal, sometimes as sides. They’re packed with vitamins, nutrients, fiber – so many things your body needs in order to be healthy.
It’s easy to eat breakfast with fruits and veggies – you can add fruit to your oatmeal, make smoothies, add veggies to your omelet, add them to your breakfast burrito, and so on.
For lunch and dinner, eat veggie soup before your meal, eat grilled or baked veggies as a side, eat a side salad, eat a big salad as the main dish, add veggies to your pasta sauces, etc.
Eating Healthy Snacks
If you like snacking, don’t worry. You don’t have to give up snacks in order to eat healthily.
Simply make healthy swaps, and start eating healthy snacks. Instead of eating a bag of potato chips, eat veggie chips or nuts.
Instead of eating an unhealthy pastry, eat veggies and dip.
Healthy snacks will also keep you full longer, so when lunch or dinner comes, you won’t be super hungry, so you won’t overeat.
Eliminating Fast Food
Avoiding fast food is definitely one of the first things you should do when you decide to focus on healthy eating.
Even though it can be tasty, it’s really not good for your body. Not only can i
t make you gain weight, it is actually bad for your organs and overall health.
Sure, eating it sometimes won’t hurt, but try to do it minimally.
Healthy food can be super tasty as well, so you don’t have to compromise taste for health.
Having “Cheat Meals” When Needed
Now, this is something you might not have expected to read, but let yourself eat what you crave every now and then. If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, it’s crucial you find a way to make it possible to stick to healthy eating long term. Everyone can eat healthy for a week or two – but short-term healthy eating won’t help you in the long run.
So, in order to stay on track long term, it’s okay to let yourself eat pizza every now and then. If you never let yourself eat what you want, the cravings will become too strong, and you’ll end up binge eating.
Just focus on eating healthy most of the time, and when you do, it’s okay to eat something not as healthy every now and then (but not too often, of course, otherwise it won’t be a healthy lifestyle anymore).
Another tip for eating those cheat meals, is to think about portion size. It would be great if those cheat meals can be smaller portions, instead of huge meals.
Making Healthy Desserts
If you have a sweet tooth, you might be afraid healthy eating means giving up desserts completely. But that’s far from the truth!
There are tons of healthy and nutritious desserts you can make, that will satisfy your sweet tooth without sacrificing your healthy eating.
Making A Meal Plan
Making a meal plan for the week ahead can be very useful for healthy eating. It will allow you to make sure your meals are balanced, healthy, and that you’re getting all of the needed nutrients.
It will also help you do grocery shopping – since you’ll know what meals you’ll be making, you can make a shopping list.
Having A Balanced Diet
Overall, the key to healthy eating without dieting is to eat a balanced diet. Make sure you’re eating healthy overall, and you won’t need to stress about every single ingredient.
