4 simple tips to help you achieve your healthy eating goals

When it comes to choosing what to eat, we live in challenging times. Never before have people known more about nutrition and how to eat for optimal health, yet we have never been surrounded by distractions and temptations that keep us from making good choices. healthy.

Some people might decide I should eat healthier! and do so without any problem, but those people are unicorns. Most of us know what we are should it can be done, but it takes a little help to make it happen, like some simple tips, tricks, and tricks to avoid the pitfalls on your path toward healthier eating.

While realizing that what works for one person may not work for another, here are some helpful habits and approaches that can help you get closer to your healthy eating goals. .

Our mouths love potato chips. Our bodies not so much.Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Goal: Snack on less junk food

Tip: Focus your willpower on the grocery store, not your house

Willpower is a finite commodity for most of us, and it pales in comparison to a bag of potato chips sitting on top of the refrigerator. That’s just the truth. Channeling your willpower at the grocery store can save you from having to fight that battle at home. If you don’t bring chips into the house in the first place, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to find something healthier.

The key to successful shopping trips is to always go to the store with a list and a full stomach; you’ll feel less tempted to buy snacks if you’re already full. Additionally, finding healthier alternatives that still satisfy cravings for salty, crunchy, or fatty foods will help. Sugar snap peas have a surprisingly delicious crunch, apples and nut butters satisfy sweet and salty cravings, and more

You can eat well without completely giving up sweets.Photo by Caitlyn de Wild on Unsplash

Goal: Eat less sugar

Tip: Instead of depriving, think about delaying or reducing and indulging

Sugar is a tricky thing. Some people find it easier to cut out added sugars altogether, but that can create an all-or-nothing mindset that often leads to all-or-nothing. Eating more whole foods and less processed foods may help us cut out a lot of added sugar, but we still live in a world of birthday cakes and desserts.

One way to approach the temptation of dessert is to delay rather than deprive. Tell yourself that tomorrow you can eat any sweet dish you want. This mental trick debunks the idea that I will just enjoy today and start eating healthier tomorrow. It’s a lot easier to say no to something you know you can have tomorrow than it is to say no to something you think you’ll never have again.

Another approach when you really want to enjoy dessert at the time is to reduce the amount and actually enjoy it. Eat each bite slowly, enjoying its full and satisfying flavor. As soon as that pleasure begins to wane, even just a little, stop eating. You got what you wanted out of it. You don’t have to complete it. (After all, you can always have more tomorrow!)

A colorful meal is naturally a healthy meal.Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Goal: Eat healthier meals

Tip: Focus on fresh foods and plan your meals in advance

Meal planning is easier than ever. The internet is filled with countless tools, everything from recipes to shopping lists to meal planning apps, and it’s so amazing it’s overwhelming.

Planning ahead eliminates guesswork and decision fatigue when cooking, avoiding the inevitable. Order a pizza. You can create a 3-week or 4-week repeat menu of your favorite meals so you never have to think about what you’re going to eat, or you can plan your meal once a week to try it out. new recipes and keeping things fresh.

It might be helpful to designate one day a week to shop, chop, and prepare ingredients for the week’s meals so they’re ready to go in your refrigerator or freezer.

Organic food is better for the Earth and for us.Photo by Andrew Welch on Unsplash

Goal: Eat more organic/humanely raised foods

Tip: Use 12 dirty lists and 15 clean lists for prioritization

Many people choose organic products because they want to avoid pesticides and other harmful chemicals. Organic food is also better for the planet, and according to the Mayo Clinic, studies have shown that organic produce is higher in certain nutrients.

Most people don’t buy everything organic, but there are some foods that should be prioritized over others. Each year, Environmental Working Group (EWG) researchers analyze thousands of samples of dozens of fruits and vegetables. From this data, they created a list of 15 Dirty Dozen and Clean fruits and vegetables, showing which products had the most and least pesticide residue. These lists give people a good place to start focusing on converting to more organic foods.

To make eating organic simpler, you can shop Oh Organic goods at your local Albertsons or Safeway stores. The Oh The Organics brand offers a wide variety of USDA certified organic products at affordable prices in every aisle. If you are focusing on fresh foods, Oh Organic produce is always grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, raised to preserve biodiversity and is always non-GMO. All are animal based Oh Organic products are also certified humane. Even switching a portion of your grocery list to organic foods can make a positive impact on the planet and the people you feed.

Healthy eating habits don’t have to be all or nothing, and they don’t have to be complicated either. A few simple mindset changes at home and a change in grocery store habits can make a big difference.