During a poll conducted several years ago, about 75 percent of Americans said that they believe they eat healthy. But there is quite a bit of evidence that would suggest otherwise.
Other studies have shown that more than one-third of people living in this country are obese. They’ve also shown that about eight out of 10 people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. As a result, Americans suffer from a wide range of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, and more.
The good news is that it’s never too late to start eating healthy. Whether you’re 5, 25, 55, or 85, you can change your diet up over time and lead a healthier lifestyle when you do.
It probably won’t be easy to break a lot of your bad eating habits. But it’ll be well worth the time and effort that you put into it.
Here’s how to do it.
Figure Out Why You Want to Start Eating Healthy
As we just mentioned, there are a lot of challenges that you’re going to face when making major changes to your diet. It’ll feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle at times, and you’ll want to throw all the progress you’ve made out the window.
At those times, it’ll be important for you to have clear objectives in place as far as why you want to start eating healthy. Is it because you want to:
- Lose weight without undergoing surgery?
- Lower cholesterol?
- Bring down blood pressure?
- Reduce the risk of heart disease?
- Live longer?
Write down your reasons for wanting to eat healthier. They’ll help you power through the tough times and keep you on the right track.
Clean Out Your Kitchen Cabinets
It’ll be just about impossible to start eating healthy when you have a bunch of junk food sitting in your kitchen cabinets. That junk food will serve as a huge temptation every time you feel like giving in to your cravings.
Before you start eating healthy, go through everything in your kitchen and either throw out or donate anything that won’t be part of your diet plans moving forward. This should include:
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Chips
- Candies
- And almost everything else with an unhealthy amount of sugar in it!
Sugary foods and any foods that have been processed are going to be your worst enemy when you’re trying to alter your diet.
Find Healthy Foods You Enjoy Eating
Once you’ve removed junk food from your kitchen, you’ll free up tons of space for all the healthy foods you’re going to be eating from now on. Ideally, you should look for so-called “clean” foods and lean on them when creating a new diet for yourself.
Some of the clean foods you might want to consider adding to your kitchen are:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole grains
If something grows out of the ground, there’s a good chance that it’ll fall into the “clean” category. Clean foods are jampacked with the vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats, and fiber that your body needs to stay healthy.
Get Into the Habit of Reading Labels
In a perfect world, every single food that you put into your body would be “clean.” But realistically, you aren’t going to eat only clean foods for the rest of your life. You’ll still eat things that come out of boxes and other types of packaging.
Before you do, read the labels on these foods to see what’s actually inside of them. You might be surprised to see what you’ve been putting in your body for all these years.
Steer clear of foods that contain too much:
- Saturated fat
- Sugar
- Sodium
You’ll become more intentional about what you do and don’t eat when reading labels becomes second nature to you.
Eat at Home Rather Than Eating Out
Did you know you could save upwards of $3,000 every year by staying out of restaurants? That’s how much the average American spends each year eating out.
But that’s not the only reason to skip eating out from now on. You should also do it because you lose control of your diet when you order a meal while you’re out. You don’t have much say over which ingredients a cook uses to make your meal.
Maintain control when you start eating healthy by eating at home just about every night. You can give yourself a chance to cheat every now and then. But for the most part, you should be cooking as many of your meals as you can.
Practice Portion Control
When most people are putting together a plate for dinner, they fill it up to the top with a little bit of everything that’s being served. When they’re done, they have a mountain of food sitting in front of them.
If you do this, you might think you’re only eating “one plate” of food. But in reality, you’re having way more servings than you realize. In the process, you’re taking in too many calories, which can lead to weight gain.
Instead of taking this approach to eating, learn to practice good portion control. Use smaller dinner plates and only take one serving of each type of food.
Incorporate More Water Into Your Days
What you drink during the day is every bit as important as what you eat when it comes to being healthy. Far too many Americans spend their days drinking nothing but:
- Soda
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Energy drinks
- Fruit drinks
Meanwhile, they don’t drink nearly enough water. Experts estimate that about 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
Drinking a lot of water will give you access to a long list of benefits. It will:
- Provide you with more energy
- Improve your brain function
- Prevent headaches
- Help you avoid constipation
- Allow you to lose weight
Start filling up a water bottle and carrying it around with you at all times. It’ll work well for those who are going to start eating healthy.
What If You Start Eating Healthy and Struggle to See Results?
When you start eating healthy and do everything that we’ve talked about here, it shouldn’t be long at all before your health begins to improve. You should look and feel better than you have in years.
If you don’t notice results, it might be time to talk to your doctor about what else could be going on. It might also be time to consider using the Obrera® Weight Loss System in order to lose weight if that’s one of your goals.
Contact us today to see if Obrera might be the non-surgical weight loss solution you’ve been looking for.