Im not a big fan of dieting a word that conjures up images of hunger and chewing on celery or doing some kind of fad diet but I do believe in trying to eat a healthier diet.
Dont diet, but do stick to a healthy diet, in other words.
But thats easier said than done, as we all know. The healthy diet goes out the window when theres a family party or a function at work full of unhealthy food, or when we go out to eat with friends, or to a ballgame or amusement park or the beach, or when well, you get the idea. There are lots of ways to get off a diet.
And there are just as many ways to stick to your healthy diet. Here are 15 tips and tricks to help you get into the habit of eating a healthy diet.
1. Know your motivation. I have a friend who is getting healthy so that hell be alive and well to see his 3-year-old son grow up. When he gets tempted by evil junk food, he asks himself whether hed rather eat the sweets or see his son grow up. When you have a powerful motivation like this, and remember what choice youre making whenever you face temptation, its easier to be strong when youd otherwise cave in.
2. Take it in gradual steps. You dont have to overhaul your diet overnight. I highly recommend changing your diet in small steps just drink water instead of soda, for example, or eat fruit instead of candy or chips. Once you adjust to this small change, make another a week or two later, and so on until youre eating much healthier a few months later. This small and gradual process makes it much easier to stick with a healthy diet.
3. Dont be drastic. There's been the grapefruit diet, the banana diet, the detox diet. All are drastic and very few people can last with them for a long time. And the fact is, while you might lose a lot of weight with a drastic diet in a short amount of time, as soon as you get off the diet and go back to eating unhealthily, youll gain the wait back. Dont do anything drastic make long-lasting changes.Next: More tips4. Choose foods you love. This is incredibly important. If you hate eating salads, dont make salads a key to your new diet. I happen to love salads, but everyone has different tastes. Dont eat foods just because theyre good for you eat them because theyre healthy AND you love them. For me, that means berries and almonds and oatmeal and salads and yogurt and cottage cheese and tofu, but for others it might be salmon and lean grass-fed beef and asparagus and walnuts. Find the foods you love that are healthy, and youll stick with the diet much longer.5. Pack food. Always bring healthy food with you, wherever you go. Sometimes this just means packing snacks if youre going on a few errands (I like almonds and fruit), other times youmight want to pack more substantial meals and pack them with ice to keep them fresh. Packing your lunch to work is a great idea, along with a bunch of snacks to keep you satisfied all day without eating the donuts someone brought in.
6. Dont get hungry. When you allow yourself to starve, you will often binge, because your blood-sugar levels are so low that you crave instant sugar (or refined flour). When youre starving, you are more likely to indulge in donuts or cake. So eat snacks throughout the day, or small meals, so that you never get super hungry.7. Choose healthy when you eat out. If you go to a restaurant or party, look for the healthy choices. I love a good salad bar, but you could also choose a lean cut of meat, grilled not fried, with steamed veggies, or some black bean or lentil soup, or something like that.8. Indulge in little bits. I dont believe in going extreme and not allowing myself to eat treats such as mmm, chocolate cake. But the key is to eat healthy most of the time, and when you do indulge in a treat, do it in small amounts. Two or three bites of cake or ice cream, for example, wont kill your diet but will satisfy your sweet craving. Eating a whole tub of ice cream? Not recommended.9. Eat small portions when you go out. If you go to a party with lots of food, try for small portions. Just eat until youre slightly full, then have some water and talk with people without eating for awhile, then when you get hungry have another small portion, and so on. Try for the amount of food that will fit in your hand. If you space out several small portions over the course of a couple hours, youll feel satisfied but never take in too much.
10. Have tasty substitutes for your weaknesses. When I feel like eating something sweet, Ill often have berries or fruit. My sister likes to mix berries with almond butter, chocolate protein powder, and water a weird but satisfying treat. Whatever your weaknesses, find a substitute that will satisfy your cravings when they inevitably come up.Next: 5 more tips11. Clear your home of unhealthy snacks and foods. If you have junk food in your home, youre more likely to give in atsome point and eat it. But if you clear your home of these foods, you wont have that temptation. Clear your fridge and cabinets of candy, baked sweets, fried foods, foods made with refined flour, fatty and greasy things like chips and fries, and so on. 12. Fill yourself up with water, fruits, veggies, and lean protein at a party. Lots of parties will have at least a couple of healthy options some fruits or veggies, maybe some lean protein thats not fried. I will fill myself up on these, even if theyre not entirely a meal, and then eat a healthy meal later.13. Dont stuff yourself. Make this your ultimate rule. Even if you break down and get fatty, fried food at a restaurant or party, just dont eat until youre stuffed. Try the Okinawan rule of eating until youre 80% full. This way you can eat the unhealthy stuff and still limit the damage.
14. Dont starve yourself. This might sound like the dont get hungry tip above, but its bigger than that dont eat so little that youre starving. For most women, that means dont gobelow 1,200 calories a day for men, its 1,500. But even those are too low for many of us. You only want to cut a moderate amount of calories from your diet if you starve yourself, youll lose muscle, youll get unhealthy and youll end up falling off the diet eventually. 15. If you indulge, burn it off. Sometimes all of the strategies above will fail. Thats OK. Dont beat yourself up about it just get back on the wagon, back on track. Look at it as a small bump in the road. And better yet, get outside and burn off the calories by running, walking briskly, playing sports, whatever it takes. Then start eating healthy again.Leo Babauta is the author of
