Fitnall

Making the Switch to a Healthy Diet

Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it is about feeling great, opting for a healthy lifestyle, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. If you feel overwhelmed by all the fitness books and conflicting diet advice out there, you are not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you; you will find another saying exactly the opposite.

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But by using the below simple tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create and stick to a tasty, varied, and nutritious diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body. To set yourself up for success, try to keep things simple. Eating a healthier diet does not have to be complicated. Instead of being over conscious with counting calories, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness.

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Focus on avoiding packaged/processed foods and opting for more fresh ingredients whenever possible. Let’s discuss some tips to get started.

Prepare More of your Own Meals: Cooking more meals at home can help you take charge of what you are eating and better monitor exactly what goes into your food. You will eat fewer calories and avoid the chemical additives, added sugar, and unhealthy fats of packaged and takeout foods that can leave you feeling tired, bloated, and irritable, and exacerbate symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety.

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Make the Right Changes: When cutting back on unhealthy foods in your diet, it is important to replace them with healthy alternatives. Replacing dangerous trans fats with healthy fats will make a positive difference to your health. Switching animal fats for refined carbohydrates, won’t lower your risk for heart disease or improve your mood.

Drink Plenty of Water: Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins. It is also a common mistake to assume thirst as hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food choices.

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Read the Labels: It is important to be aware of what is in your food as manufacturers often hide large amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats in packaged food, even food claiming to be healthy.

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Eating a healthy diet does not have to be overly complicated. While some specific foods or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on mood, it is your overall dietary pattern that is most important. The cornerstone of a healthy diet pattern should be to replace processed food with real food whenever possible and should not to be an all or nothing proposition.

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You don’t have to be perfect; you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy, and you don’t have to change everything all at once as it will only lead to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. A better approach is to make a few small changes at a time. Keeping your goals modest with a few weight loss tips from Adriana can help you achieve more in the long term without feeling deprived.

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Adriana is the founder of FitnAll and one of the top fitness bloggers in NY who has participated in various fitness competitions.