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Healthy eating is about being positive and excited about the healthy direction you’re taking – not about cutting things out or feeling restricted.
So many diet plans focus your energy on avoiding, losing, reducing. That’s not a healthy way to live – and it’s certainly not very fun. Instead, why not turn your energy around and focus on creating health for yourself?
It’ll probably take some time to shift your thinking, but it’s a much healthier outlook on diet and weight loss. You create health by adding healthy, whole plant foods to your diet and gradually reducing unhealthy foods.
Healthy eating involves a focus on all the good things you can eat, and about making sure that you’re getting the essential nutrients without which your body will always crave nourishment.
I hope to help you expand your food horizons, try some new recipes and shift to healthier eating habits. But I also tried to make things as manageable as possible so that you don’t feel overwhelmed.
As you transition to a healthier way of eating, you should start noticing higher energy levels, and less of that ‘I just want to veg on the couch’ attitude.
You’d be surprised at how much of a difference the food you eat can make to your mood, your attitude and your self-confidence.
Now, I’m not saying that there’s one perfect way of eating. In fact, I think that everyone has slightly different needs.
Tuning in to your body is the only way to find out what’s healthy for you as an individual.
The trouble is, you can’t tune in to your body until you’ve gotten to a basic level of health and overcome the cravings and addictions that can cloud the true messages your body gives you.
A healthy eating plan consists of a few general principles. Let’s start there.
Whole Foods
When you eat, your body is looking for nutrients — vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Every whole food provides a unique combination of nutrients.
Examples of whole foods are brown rice, whole grain flour, sunflower seeds, or an apple. Examples of foods that are not whole are white rice, white flour, sunflower oil, or apple juice.
Foods that are not whole have had some part of them, such as vitamins or fibre, removed, and your body will be missing those nutrients and will try to tell you to go get it.
And it’s not enough to simply replace the parts, in the form of vitamin pills or fibre supplements. The only way to truly give your body what it wants is to eat the whole food.
As much as possible, eat foods that are in their whole form, so you know that they have all their nutrients intact.
Balance
Balance refers to the ratio of foods in your diet. A good balance is to eat more vegetables and fruit than any other food group. An imbalanced diet would be one that includes more pasta than vegetables.
Balance is a major concern when people consider a vegetarian or vegan diet because they have been taught that animal products are an important food group. However, if you look at that food group as protein rather than meat, there are lots of excellent vegetarian and vegan sources of protein to balance your diet.
Balance also involves your own personal balance. Some people do better with a lot of raw foods, while others do better with more cooked foods.
Also, the types of foods you eat and what time of day you eat them will affect your energy levels (e.g., generally eating too late in the day should be avoided as it will affect your sleep).
If you pay attention you can learn what foods are best for you and when you should eat your meals.
Remember that even if you learn about something that is nutritionally sound in theory, it may not be right for you. Be careful of diet plans that stick rigidly to an idea of what perfect nutrition should be. Your goal is to find the right balance for you!
Changes Over Time
There are several reasons why your diet might, and should, change over time. Different seasons and weather will affect the types of foods you want to eat, and your energy levels.
As well, the foods you eat can help you stay at a comfortable temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. For most people, raw foods are cooling, so you may want to eat less of them when the weather is cold.
Also, as you age, your body’s nutritional needs and digestive processes changes. When you are a baby, your digestion is sensitive to any irritants. As you grow up, your system either becomes stronger or more damaged, both of which will reduce sensitivity.
As you get to your thirties and beyond, your digestion will lose some strength and you don’t need as many calories. However, you still need the same amount of nutrients, so you need to shift to more nutrient-dense foods — like vegetables and fruit. And since your digestive system isn’t quite as strong, it may be helpful to cook most of your vegetables.
Variety
Another important aspect of a healthy diet is eating a variety of foods. Since each food has slightly different nutrients, it’s important to eat as many different types of foods as you can.
For example, you can use many types of grains: brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, barley, whole wheat, rye, kamut, spelt, etc.
Variety doesn’t have to happen all in the same meal or even the same day. Try to grab different fruits and vegetables as they come into season, and vary your grocery list each week.
Mostly Vegetarian
Plants should make up the vast majority of your diet. You don’t need to cut animal foods out of your diet entirely if you don’t want to, but keeping them to a minimal amount is best for so many reasons.
Even eating only plant foods for 1 day a week has a positive effect, so think of the effect 5 days a week can have!
Stress-free
Although a healthy diet is very important to your current and future health, it shouldn’t cause excessive stress. Any change can cause some minor stress, but don’t let your new eating plan create a situation in which you are constantly obsessing over food or neglecting other things in your life.
Stress itself is unhealthy, and can neutralize the health gains of a good diet. Nutrition is important, but it’s only one facet of health. Just as essential are exercise, proper breathing, getting a good sleep, and having loving relationships. In fact, being happy and stress-free is arguably as important as eating well!