healthy eating plans

Starting healthy meal plans does not mean planning rigid, inflexible, bland and boring meals. It’s not about starving yourself to the point of tears, or staying too thin. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having energy that lasts all day, sleeping soundly through the night, and being as healthy as possible. It is about reducing the risk of diseases that are falsely considered part of the aging process. All this can be achieved effortlessly by gradually switching to a simple and healthy eating menu.

10 healthy eating tips

1 – Don’t instantly abandon your current eating habits

Make your transition to healthy meal plans a gradual, step-by-step process. If you commit to making the change in small, manageable steps, you’ll be eating healthy before you know it.

Instead of worrying about counting calories or measuring portions, think about changing your diet in terms of color, freshness, and variety. Find recipes that call for fresh fruits and vegetables. Little by little, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.

Remember, make this change gradual, not overnight. Start by adding a colorful vegetable salad to a meal every day for a few weeks. Then maybe add fresh fruit for dessert. Make the transition gradual.

Every change you make to your diet is important. You don’t have to be perfect or instantly eliminate foods you enjoy. Your long-term goal is to feel good, have energy, and reduce your chances of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

Think of water and exercise as integral parts of your new transition.

Your body needs clean, clear water. Not so-called fruit juices (unless they’re freshly squeezed), and especially not coffee. Many people go through life dehydrated because they drink very little water or almost exclusively coffee. Your digestive system needs plenty of water to function efficiently just like every other organ in your body. These so-called fruit juices are full of sugar, flavorings, and preservatives that your body can’t digest, so it stores them as fat. Coffee is nothing more than an addictive drug that dehydrates your body. Coffee is the biggest drug in the world.

Furthermore, the human body was built for movement, not for the sedentary lifestyle that most people live today. Choose an activity that you enjoy and make it part of your daily routine, even if it’s two or three times a day.

2 – The secret is moderation

The key to switching to a healthy diet is moderation. Your body always needs a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Don’t think that some foods are off-limits, think smaller portions and eat them less often.

3 – How you eat

It’s not what you eat, it’s how you eat. Slow down, think of food as nourishment, not something to gobble down while running here and there. And, have breakfast. Get out of bed every morning, do some light exercise to get your heart rate up and your lungs open, then eat a light, healthy breakfast. Your body wants exercise and it wants breakfast. You have gone several hours without eating, so your organs need nutrition to wake up and start working.

4 – Color is the secret

Fruits and vegetables are the secret ingredient of a healthy diet. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. You say you don’t like vegetables? Incorporate fresh vegetables into your diet little by little. Soon you will acquire a taste for vegetables because your body wants and needs them.

Green vegetables provide calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamins A, C, E and K, and help strengthen the blood and respiratory system. Sweet vegetables help eliminate the craving for sweets. Corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes or yams, winter squash, and onions are examples of sweet vegetables. A wide variety of fruits is essential for a healthy diet. Berries fight cancer, apples provide fiber, and citrus fruits are full of vitamin C.

5 – Eat healthy carbohydrates

When most people think of carbohydrates, they think of breads, potatoes, pasta, and rice. True, these are carbs, however, these are unhealthy starchy carbs. They break down into glucose very quickly, which makes blood sugar and insulin levels very erratic. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are sources of healthy carbohydrates. Notice, I said whole wheat grains, not whole wheat bread.

6 – Healthy Fats Vs. Unhealthy Fats

Fats are a necessary part of your diet, however, there are healthy and unhealthy fats. You need healthy fats to nourish your brain, heart, hair, skin, and nails. The omega-3 and omega-6 fats in salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines are vital to your diet. The fats you need to start cutting out of your diet are trans fats and saturated fats.

7 – Protein

Protein supplies the necessary amino acids that we need to build muscle tissue, strengthen our immune system, our heart, and our respiratory system. Protein also helps stabilize blood sugar levels. When we think of protein, we commonly think of red meat, let it be lean red meat. Other sources of protein to work into your healthy diet include salmon and other fresh fish, and turkey.

8 – Your body needs calcium

Of course, dairy products are the obvious source of calcium. However, green leafy vegetables are an excellent source of calcium. Beans are also rich in calcium.

9 – Sugar and Salt

Sugar and salt are necessary for our survival, however they should be taken in moderation. Sugar and salt are hidden in many of our processed foods today. Foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, spaghetti sauce, margarine, instant mashed potatoes, frozen dinners, fast food, soy sauce, and ketchup. Again, for a smooth transition, remove these foods from your diet gradually.

10 – Advance Meal Plan

Plan your meals by the week, or even by the month. Planning your meals removes the urge to grab something simple, easy, and unhealthy.

Conclusion – Your healthy eating menu

Remember, healthy eating doesn’t mean sticking to a boring, strict regimen. It means having more energy, sleeping better at night, and reducing your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other ailments mistakenly attributed to simple aging. Make your transition gradual and you’ll be enjoying healthy meal plans before you know it.