Why Should You Maintain A Healthy Diet?
What you eat every day affects your health and how you will feel now and in the future. Good nutrition plays a major role in helping you to lead a healthy lifestyle. When combined with physical activity, your diet can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, or diabetes and improve your overall health.
Creating and maintaining healthy eating habits doesn't have to be hard. If you start by incorporating small changes into your daily habits, you can make a huge impact on your diet and create healthy and long-lasting eating habits.
Healthy eating can help you lose weight and have more energy, improve mood and reduce your risk of disease. Yet despite these benefits, maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle can be a challenge.
The following are tips for sticking to a healthy diet.
Begin with realistic expectations
Eating a nutritious diet has many benefits, including weight loss potential. It is important, however, to set realistic expectations. If you pressure yourself to lose weight too quickly, your plans to achieve better health can backfire. Obese people who are expected to lose a lot of weight are more likely to quit the weight loss program within 6-12 months.
Setting more realistic and attainable goals can prevent you from getting discouraged and may even lead to greater weight loss.
Muscular with protein
Some of the changes that occur with age are the loss of muscle and an increase in body fat. Loss of muscle is a cause for concern because strong muscles can help prevent falls and fractures. New evidence suggests that you can maintain and build muscle by eating more protein as you age, and doing resistance training (using light weights). Eat at least three times a day and include high-quality protein such as beef, chicken, eggs, fish, and dairy with each meal.
Cut down on solid fat
Eat less foods containing solid fat. The primary sources for Americans are cakes, pastries, and other desserts (often made with butter, margarine, or butter); Pizza; processed and fatty meats (eg, sausage, hot dogs, bacon, ribs); and ice cream.
Eating seafood
Seafood contains protein, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids (heart-healthy fats). Adults should try to eat at least eight ounces a week of various seafood. Children can eat seafood in less quantity. Seafood includes fish like salmon, tuna, and trout and shellfish such as crab, mussels, and oysters.
Fortify with B vitamins
Getting enough B vitamins — especially vitamin B12 — is important as you get older. People over the age of 50 need about 2.5 mcgs of vitamin B12 daily. Many older adults don't absorb vitamin B12 well, so eat foods with added (fortified) vitamin B12 or take a supplement every day.
Pay attention to your sodium
Too much sodium can raise blood pressure and lead to stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. Healthy adults only need 1500 mg (about 1/2 tsp.) sodium per day. Reading food labels is an easy way to keep track of your sodium intake.
Bring a healthy snack
Sticking to a healthy diet can be difficult when you're away from home for extended periods of time.
When you are too hungry on the go, you will probably grab whatever is available.
These are often processed foods that don't really satisfy your hunger and are not good for you in the long run.
Having a healthy, high-protein snack on hand can help keep your appetite in check until you can eat a full meal. Some good examples of portable snacks are almonds, peanuts and jerky. Also consider filling the small cooler with hard-boiled eggs, cheese or Greek yogurt.
Strengthen your bones
Calcium works in conjunction with other bone-building nutrients, such as vitamin D, to maintain strong and healthy bones and teeth. To help prevent osteoporosis, engage in regular physical activity and eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, such as low-fat milk and canned salmon. People over 50 should take a daily supplement containing 400 IU of vitamin D.
Should You Leave Your Favorite Comfort Food?
No! Eating healthy is all about balance. People can enjoy their favorite foods even though they are high in calories, fat or added sugar. (1) The key is to eat them only every now and then, and balance them with healthier foods and more physical activity.
photo of 2 variations of macaroni and cheese, one at 540 calories and one at 315 calories
A few general tips for comfort food:
Eat them less frequently. If you usually eat these foods every day, reduce them to once a month or once a week. You'll be cutting your calories because you don't eat too often.
Eat in smaller quantities. If your favorite high-calorie food is chocolate bars, eat smaller portions or just half a bar.
Try the lower-calorie version. Use low-calorie ingredients or prepare the food differently. For example, if your macaroni and cheese recipe calls for whole milk, butter, and full-fat cheese, try remaking it with nonfat milk, a little butter, light cream cheese, fresh spinach, and tomatoes. Just remember not to increase your portion size.
Breaking your habits and improving your eating patterns is not easy. However, several strategies can help you stick to your diet plan and lose weight. This includes eating mindfully, bringing healthy snacks with you, keeping unhealthy snacks out of sight, and managing your expectations. However, one of the keys to diet success is figuring out what works for you in the long run.
If you're trying to lose weight, some of the strategies above might give you a significant advantage.
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