5 Easy Tips for Healthy Eating

Photo Credit I just added the purple :)

Can there possibly be only 5 Easy Tips for Healthy Eating?? Read on if you're interested dear friend, read on.

Have you read my page, How To Lose Weight For Keeps For Real? It's okay, if you haven't don't feel remotely obliged (no, really) to go rush there now but if you have read it then you know already that I was once a rather LARGE lady who managed over time to become a much SMALLER lady, and you'll know how I did it.

But guess what? Some weight's crept back on in the last 9 months or so as my **NEW** eating habits slip and some of my old and bad eating habits sneak back in. Sneaky buggers those bad old eating habits. I don't remember telling them they could come back.

INTERVENTION!! (I shout to myself). It's time to get back on track and while I think about losing weight, I also find myself thinking more about my health this time. I'm getting older. Now at the 'too-scared-to-go-for-check-ups' stage of my life and fully aware of the fact that like it or not, our health only gets worse as we age. Depressing no?

But let us cheer ourselves up with my **EVEN NEWER** eating plan. It does encompass all the good stuff of my last plan but ... behold! It's now even healthier and in an attempt to stop myself from slipping again I've made it as SIMPLE as I possibly can. Just 5 Easy Tips for Healthy Eating. I CAN REMEMBER THAT! Woohoo!

 

1. Drink Water

I know it's an obvious one, but much as I share this information with you lovely folk, this is MY kick-up-the-butt-WTF-you-know-you-should-do-this-stuff-why-don't-you?? reminder plan and I need the obvious stating.

Photo Credit

7-8 glasses a day and NO, tea and other drinks DO NOT COUNT but by all means drink them, just get the water in as well! 7-8 glasses a day of just water is good for so many reasons I have to send you off for a read here if you need convincing.

And not on the list, although Dr Oz says so - so it should be, water adds to the make up of all your bodily fluids so not only is it essential, drinking lots of it makes a BIG difference when you have coughs and colds. Believe me. I am she of bad sinuses.

2. Don't Overeat

You know dinner plates have a shallow bowl and then an outside edge that usually contains a pattern? That outside edge with the pretty pattern is supposed to FRAME your meal, not be OBSCURED by it. Who knew? Ahem. Smaller plates work but knowing how much you're supposed to be eating really helps as well. As does plate division; half veg/salad, quarter protein and quarter starch/grain/carbohydrate. As a rough guide.

3. Avoid Bad Stuff / As Much Good Stuff as You Can Handle

Surprise surprise, Mother Nature does kind of know what she's doing when it comes to healthy eating and if you lean as much as possible towards natural foods ... and as far away as possible from refined, coloured, preservative laden etc etc. You can't go far wrong.

And we all know what's bad for us huh? *sigh* Avoid it as much as possible, and stuff in as much of the good stuff as you can bear.

4. Chuck in Some Superfoods

Diets, as many of you may know, do not impress me. I'm not one for fads or attempts to make me spend my money on things I don't really need on a weak promise that it will transform me somehow. So hear me then when I say that I am very impressed by the emerging knowledge of (dan dan daaaar) Superfoods. Of course our food affects our bodies in different ways, how pleasing it is now to have the knowledge of what our food actually does for us in more detail. Superfoods are foods that contain a very high level of nutrients and usually antioxidants, which are the things that fight those nasty cell destroying and disease causing free radicals.

Google 'oh no not more kale why the fuck should I eat superfoods?' and you'll find plenty of hits to tell you why you should.

And believe me, Superfoods is not a scam to get you to spend all of your meek shopping budget on expensive and hard to find items such as Macqui berries or Chia (WTF??).

I bet you there's Superfoods in your fridge and cupboards right NOW. Oh yes there is. There's superfoods you can grow yourself at home and not all Superfoods are expensive or hard to find. And you know what? DARK CHOCOLATE'S A SUPERFOOD!! It's good for your heart, your brain, it helps control blood sugar, full of antioxidants, good for your teeth enamel (!!) and it's high in potassium, copper, magnesium and iron. Interested now huh?

Check this list, they do mention Chia (WTF??) but that's the only poncy one I promise and you'll be surprised at how many Superfoods you already have in your diet and how many more you could easily add.

And it get's better! They've recently discovered that some foods work in very specific ways in our bodies when combined with another. Here's some examples;

Fish and Broccoli: Cancer prevention.

Yoghurt and Bananas: Digestion booster.

Black pepper and Turmeric: Super anti-inflammatory.

Apples and Grapes: Heart helper.

Tomato and Avocado: Free radical fighter, cancer prevention.

Peanut Butter and Milk: Super Vitamin D Asorption, stronger bones.

Melon and Yoghurt: Immunity Boost.

Green Tea with Lemon: Good for your heart.

How cool is that?! Chemistry in my kitchen I tell you. Do your own research and combinations because more than ever before we have the knowledge to tailor our diets to suit our own bodies and even to help any ailments or illnesses we may suffer from.

5. Move a Bit More

Last but not least, I must MOVE a bit more. I can't go to the gym, I just can't. Staring blankly into space (or at other sweaty bodies) whilst trying my hardest to look sexy and cool in my bulging yoga pants? I'm both exhausted and slightly depressed at just the thought of it.

But I can jump like crazy on the kids trampoline or play a game or chase them around the garden for half an hour after school. And I can take the stairs instead of the lift. And I CAN walk sometimes when it's only 15mins away and the sun's shining. Move! Just a bit more ...