By Anthonia Soyingbe
The year 2013 is about packing its loads and, in a couple of weeks, we will all welcome 2014 in different styles.
As we are preparing for the grand entry of year 2014, it is important to make a New Year resolution. Many make New Year resolutions on different things but few make New Year resolutions on improving their eating habit or stopping a bad eating habit so as to promote good health to achieve all their resolutions.
Healthy eating, according to a journal published by America Institute of Health, is not about skipping meals, rather “it is about eating right and choosing the right meal. Eating good means to enjoy the food you do eat. Choosing healthy eating plans does not mean choosing bad tasting food. It means getting your taste buds used to eating fresher, organic, cleaner, and safer foods for you and your family. You certainly do not have to stop enjoying some of the foods you love. Start by making one small but positive change in the way you are eating now. There is no hurry. Do not overburden yourself with too much at one time.”
Healthy eating also makes one happy thus it brings about good health, which in turn will help achieve other resolutions in the New Year beyond. Healthy eating also bring about positive change, you will notice a change in your body one week after you change your eating habit.
“How can healthy eating make one happy?” Food and Beverage asked Yvonne Bulley a clinical nutritionist and she replied, “Well, it’s simple. When we are eating right, we feel healthy mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually – that’s happiness! We are able to have a happier life through a healthier eating lifestyle. Providing the body with adequate nutrition will change your whole outlook on life. Eating good foods will provide you with energy to get you through the day without feeling groggy and tired. It is all up to you to decide to become the healthy person you were meant to be.”
In maintaining a good eating habit in 2014, the first thing you can do is become more informed about what eating healthy really means. “Eating healthy is not dieting and becoming thin as a rail; it is not becoming a vegetarian; it is not piling up on vitamin supplements; and it is not only eating one or two food groups. Although doing these things does not mean you are not healthy. It means you are restricting yourself from understanding what eating healthy really means. When you get sick, run down or diseased, it is because your body is missing vital nutrition to keep it running smoothly. Although your organs have different functions, they all work together for total health and mind fitness,” Abel Akinade, a nutritionist based in Lagos, said.
“Why do we see so many positive changes and benefits from eating healthy? Eating healthy works, that is why! Your body is a living organism that requires nutrition to do its job and to stay alive. The heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and all of the other bodily organs absolutely need healthy foods to keep them functioning at optimal levels,” Akinade added.
Good healthy eating plans involve the consumption of more whole food meals. These foods may include any variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, fish for healthy fats and various sources of protein. These should be your base foods to eat. In fact, you can see by the above list that you can actually make some easy healthy meals. Then every now and then you can treat yourself to a less wholesome food such as foods that are primarily made up of simple carbohydrates. However, after being on a healthy food plan for a while, your tastes will begin to change. The time may come where you will not want to eat unhealthy food anymore. Not because you know you shouldn’t eat it, but because you just don’t want to.
Changing your diet may make your body to go into the starvation mode, and experts have said that it ends up holding onto as many calories as possible. In essence, your metabolism slows way down. So when you come off your diet and start eating regularly again, your body grabs onto the fat in your meals and hangs onto it for dear life. Then you see your weight starting to increase again. Sometimes to the point of surpassing the weight you began with when you started your diet. Healthy eating plans are much different. The purpose of these plans is to eat for health and not for weight loss or some other specific outcome. Though when you change your diet to a healthy eating plan, weight loss will become a secondary benefit. You won’t even have to think about it. It will just happen. Your body will stop craving foods that you used to eat just for appetite sake or for your sweet tooth. It will no longer interest you as much as it used to. Then eating healthy becomes a breeze.
Tips to maintaining healthy eating habit this year
A good way to begin healthy eating plan is to write it down. Make a menu of what you will eat throughout your first week. You don’t have to abandon all the food you like it is a gradual process, which can only be achievable through self-discipline.
Another good tip is to stay away from simple carbohydrate foods. These types of foods are simple sugar foods. This is often thought of as all sweet foods. There are many other simple carbohydrate foods that you should stay away from.
Developing a healthy eating plan is not difficult. Just remember to begin with foods in their purest forms like those mentioned earlier. The more processed a food becomes the worse it gets. The less you have to cook a food the better it is.
It takes three weeks to develop a habit. Do your due diligence in eating healthier for at least three weeks and it will become easier.
What else are you waiting for? There are lots of valuable benefits regarding common sense healthy diet plans, healthy eating tips, and eating guide in this report. Take the path to a healthier and happier life and live happier and healthier in year 2014 and beyond!