Health Tips
Does the idea of eating healthier make you panic?
Is your first thought that you need to change everything, buy special food and follow some really restrictive diet plan? Does the idea of “eating better” piss you off a bit, even?
I’ve got your back. Here are seven tips you can incorporate today without ever setting foot in the grocery store or cracking open a cookbook.
Eating better is something EVERYONE can do to improve their health. And it doesn’t have to be time-consuming, difficult or stressful.
Tip # 1: Don’t skip meals.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in a hurry, you need to eat your breakfast. Skipping meals is one of those dietary pitfalls most people indulge in.
We don’t have the time.
We’re hoarding calories for dinner.
We have a meeting.
STOP making excuses for not taking care of yourself.
Spreading your food intake over the course of your day will keep you properly fueled, prevent you from overindulging, and keep your metabolism in peak form. Do make your body guess when you’ll feed it again. Regular your energy, work side-by-side with your body by giving it the consistency of regular meal timing.
Tip # 2: Eat your fruit; don’t drink it.
Healthy fruit juice is a myth. Fruit is delicious but it’s high in natural sugar. When whole it’s also high in vitamins and fibre. Fibre slows the digestion of sugar which helps prevent a spike in your blood sugar. When juiced, the fibre and vitamins are filtered out. A serving of whole fruit can satiate your craving for sweets and fill you up, while a glass of fruit juice will spike your blood sugar levels and increases your risk for blood sugar disorders like diabetes!
For Heaven’s sake. get off the juice train if you’re on it. Start eating your fruit instead!
Tip # 3: Plan ahead.
Grab and go eating is the norm for most of us. And unless you learn to plan ahead, you end up grabbing processed snacks and prepared foods that are filling your body with unwanted sodium, chemicals and other garbage. Instead of reaching for what’s convenient at the last minute, take ten minutes a day to scribble out a game plan for the rest of your day in order to make healthy convenient when the time comes. A tablespoon of peanut butter and some celery, or a hard-boiled egg and carrot sticks will fuel you so much better than a bag of chips or a candy bar and all you have to do is think ahead a little.
Tip # 4. Use your hands.
I admit, measuring everything is a hassle. The reality is that portion sizes matter – a lot. It doesn’t matter what you eat, if you eat too much of it you will not lose weight. That is a fact. The easiest way to mind your portions is to use your own hand. Hand sizes vary, and this is a good thing. No matter how much you’re tempted, do not pull out the measuring cups. A smaller person who has smaller hands needs smaller portion sizes. Your hand is the perfect measure for your needs.
General portioning guidelines are as follows:
Protein: 1 palm-sized portion (imagine cutting your hand off at the wrist, and then cutting all of your fingers and thumb off. Your palm that’s left is the ideal size of your portion.)
Good Fat: 1 thumb-sized portion
Veggies (not including starchy carbs): 1-2 fist-sized portions (imagine making a fist and then cutting your hand off at the wrist. The size of your fist is the ideal size of veggies.)
Carbs and Fruit: 1 cupped handful portion (imagine using your hand to cup up a portion of rice – it should be level, not heaping.)
For more detailed information on this, or to learn how to personalize your portion sizes even further download the “Create the Perfect Meal Infograph” found here.
This is easy work and easy is good. Especially easy work that gets you results.
I help busy professional women who struggle with nutrition and fitness silence their inner daemons and get healthy, so they can love the way they feel in their own skin with the confidence they need to conquer the rest of their lives.
