Developing healthy eating habits can be a challenge at first glance. In a world saturated with fast food, junk food and genetically modified food, unhealthy choices seem more readily accessible or at least more prevalent. The key to a healthy balanced diet lies in resisting the temptation to grab the processed, microwavable option and opt for fresh fruit and vegetables more often.
This can seem daunting at first, and while creating a balanced diet is certainly a challenge, it does not require adherence to some bizarre, restrictive health diet involving nothing but wheat grass shakes and oxygen. Healthy eating is about creating good food habits and minimizing bad, and there are a few ways to ease the hunger pains and develop healthy eating habits today.
Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, and healthy eating begins with breakfast. The morning meal is literally the breaking of a fast, your chance to kick start your metabolism after seven or eight hours of sleep. Oatmeal or whole grain cereal make for great healthy eating in the morning, in addition to being relatively simple to prepare. If truly pressed for time, a banana is quick, portable, tasty and far healthier than other popular breakfast options, like donuts or pastries.
Reasonable portions are important for healthy eating, as well. Most restaurants in the United States serve more than the average person should reasonably eat in a single sitting. A good healthy eating strategy to develop when eating out for lunch is to set aside half your sandwich or salad and save it for later. Doing so will save both calories and money. The simple act of dividing up portions throughout the day, as opposed to indulging in one large meal, is a good healthy eating habit as well. Consider keeping some fruit or nuts on hand to stave off midday snacking urges and prevent an impulsive trip to the vending machine.
A day of healthy eating ends with dinner. The trick here is to keep it light. A person’s metabolism slows down considerably during sleep, and the body has no opportunity to burn off a rich, fatty or particularly heavy meal during this downtime. A salad or simple, protein rich chicken dish makes an ideal capstone for a day of healthy eating, and will leave the dieter feeling refreshed and energetic the next morning.
