5 ways to keep your health resolutions throughout the year
We have all been there. Every new year, one item in our resolution list is reserved for eating healthier or exercising more. 54% of people in this survey by MyGov said their New Year’s resolution was to ‘eat healthier’ and 59% of the people wanted to ‘exercise more’.
Most of us want to eat healthier or get more exercise so that we can see some weight loss. With this goal, it is very common to start bright and then abandon these resolutions within a few months. Because we always start with the most restrictive ‘diets’. We make promises about staying away from desserts, chips, fried food, soda, and alcohol. But that is not possible.
You see, the more you try to restrict yourself, the more you start to crave for them because of the feeling of deprivation kicking in. So unbeknown to you, you will end up binge eating them and once you do that, more than often you will get back to eating like before and gaining back all the lost weight.
I have done my share of restrictive dieting and falling off the wagon before January ends. And now I don’t even add this in my resolutions because it does not make sense to start ‘eating healthier’ only at the beginning of the year. Eating healthy should be a lifestyle where you choose healthy options 80% of the time and indulge in treat meals (and not cheat meals) the other 20% of the time.
Here are 5 things you can do to eat healthier throughout the year.
- Include protein in every meal
- Eat more vegetables
- Drink water
- Eat home-cooked meals
- Learn to eat mindfully
Include protein in every meal
Protein forms the most satiating part of your meal which simply means including more protein in your food will keep those mid-meal cravings at bay. You can include proteins in the form of lean meat, eggs, fish, cheese, yogurt, milk, legumes, tofu, or tempeh. An adult needs around 0.8–1.2g protein per kg bodyweight. For example, a woman who weighs 60kgs would need to consume around 48g-72g protein in a day.
Starting your day with a high-protein meal that contains eggs or milk can give you a good start and keep you full till lunch.
Eat your colors
Most of us don’t get enough fiber in a day. Lack of fiber leads to constipation. Fiber adds bulk to the stool and eating around 25g-30g of fiber per day will keep you regular and also keep you satiated for a long time.
Add vegetables both cooked and raw in every meal. Eat local and seasonal vegetables and fruits to get more nutrition and also save money.
Drink water
Drinking water offers a lot of benefits. It helps in maintaining the fluid levels in your body, keeps your skin and hair healthy, keeps you feeling full, and helps reduce bloating.
Drinking a glass of water the first thing in the morning helps you hydrate your body after going for hours without water.
Eat home-cooked meals
With a busy and fast-paced life, it is easier to just order in than go through the ordeal of preparing meals at home. But you can control what you put on your plate when you are preparing your meals at home.
Meal prepping over the weekends will decrease the time spent in the kitchen during workdays. This way you will be less tempted to order in because you ended up in a work meeting till 7 pm on a Wednesday.
Learn to eat mindfully
Try not to eat in front of the television or at your work desk. It is important to experience the food that you eat. This is something I have been trying to change in my eating habits but I will admit it is hard.
It is also important to learn to separate emotions from food. Take it from someone who has eaten 3 donuts in one sitting because I was stressed and probably PMSing. Attaching food to emotions (both happy and sad) leads to binge sessions which most of us end up feeling guilty about later.
If you liked what you read, do leave a comment and tell me what are the steps you take to eat healthy throughout the year.
