Developing Healthy Habits...one at a time

At first it can seem intimidating to really take a look at what you eat and try to change. We eat several times a day yet we are often too busy to really stop and enjoy our food. Something as important and vital to life as food shouldn't be something we overlook. It is important for us to be aware of what we put in our body, food is what gives our body fuel. If we don't nurture our bodies with good, clean, whole foods then our bodies cannot run as efficiently as they should.

It is easy to get overwhelmed at the idea of changing a habit as major as your eating patterns. But the big secret to eating healthy is that it is not 'all or nothing.' Following the 'fad diets' out there can lead you to feel discouraged when you make a mistake. They make you follow a specific regime and once you 'fall off the wagon,' as they say, you tend to return to your old habits, leaving behind all signs of the dreaded 'diet' you were once on. The first step to eating healthy is to decide to make it a lifestyle choice. In order to switch from the 'diet to diet' way of thinking and instead make a decision to change something important in your life, you need to take small steps. You can't just change everything about the way you eat over night. This is why most diets fail. The mindset that healthy eating is all or nothing.

Start small. Maybe your first goal towards healthy eating is simply to cut out all fast food. This is a small and simple step that can make a huge difference in the way you eat. Your first goal could be to cook your own meals 2x a week (or more depending on how many you do already.) Once you develop small habits like this, you begin to see how these small changes can impact your life. Cutting out fast food can make you feel more lively and awake, resulting in your loss of desire to ever go back again. Or perhaps after cooking your own meals for a while you develop a love of cooking and decide to cook more often for yourself. Making these small habits makes you feel better, healthier and stronger. It makes you see the value in making the change, and it becomes a healthy habit.

Now you may ask what I mean by 'healthy eating.' It is a pretty vague term these days. The philosophy I personally have towards food is called Clean Eating. The basic principles are to avoid processed and refined foods such as white flour and white sugar, and instead enjoy whole grains/complex carbs such as brown rice and 100% whole wheat pasta. I read food labels carefully and stay away from products high in saturated fat and trans fat, anything fried or high in sugar. You will not see foods with long lists of random preservatives and additives in my cupboard. Instead of going for the quick, processed version of food, I opt to cook my own meals, using my own ingredients. This way I know what I am eating. So in that sense I can eat most any meal or dish that I want, I just revamp it into a healthy version. I like to make pizza with fresh ingredients on whole wheat pizza dough using a light coat of cheese. By simply eating clean I have learned to enjoy food.