Seven Ways to Optimize Healthy EatiNG
You know healthy eating is vital for fueling your body, reducing disease risk, increasing longevity, and fostering mental and physical well-being.
But with so many conflicting opinions and advice around us, it can be hard to know where to start — or what needs changing.
If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's this: Healthy eating doesn't involve any specific diet. It's about prioritizing your health with nutrient-rich foods. When you're hungry, the goal should be to eat filling, nutritious meals and snacks, not as few calories as possible.
This checklist will show you the seven most significant changes to optimize your healthy eating efforts. None of them take much time, but each can make a dramatic difference to your health.
7 Ways to Optimize Healthy Eating
Diversify your diet by cooking most of your meals at home. Learn two or three essential recipes and meal-prep your lunch.
Create whole-food protein and fiber-rich meals and snacks to satisfy your hunger.
Prioritize grocery shopping to stock your kitchen with healthy staples. Shop once or twice per week to top up on fresh ingredients. A nutritious well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer will make healthy meals easy.
Make plant foods the base of your diet at every meal and snack, like vegetables, fruit, beans, and nuts.
Drink plenty of water. If you're not used to drinking water, challenge yourself to consume 1 cup / 8 oz of water every hour for eight hours. A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice can make plain water more appealing for non-water drinkers.
Eliminate processed foods and preserved meat as much as possible.
Avoid drinking your calories; consuming sugary drinks regularly, like soda, energy drinks, and sweetened coffees, can be detrimental to your health.
BONUS Top tips to make optimizing healthy eating easier
Choose recipes that take very little time to make if you're new to cooking, which helps you develop your culinary skills. Collect recipes that you are able to prepare in under 30-minutes.
Save money by sourcing your plant produce — vegetables and fruit — from fresh and frozen. Don't feel you need to buy everything organic; use the dirty dozen & clean fifteen as a guide.
If you hate grocery shopping, minimize the physical effort with online ordering, reducing impulse buying.
Reduce the mental effort of eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks by learning and planning a handful of recipes to eat consistently for the month. Some people eat the same meals daily but change the ingredients to match the seasons.
To minimize ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks, evaluate your daily routine. For example, you pop into the gas station in the morning and grab a sugary, caffeinated energy drink with your gas. Instead, try fueling up in the evening when you're less likely to want the sugary energy boost.
There is a wide variety of foods to choose from; avoid trying to force yourself to eat meals you dislike. Work through the checklist and bonus tips to try different foods and recipes you enjoy.