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Last Updated on December 7, 2023
Your health is one of the most valuable assets you can have in life. Without good health, you’ll find it difficult to pursue your career and relationship goals. Your eating habits play a key role in your overall health, so here’s how you can incorporate healthy eating into your daily life this year.
1. Slow Down
The speed at which you eat affects how much you eat and your likelihood of gaining weight. Fast eaters tend to eat more and report a higher body mass index (BMI) compared to slow eaters. Hormones regulate your appetite, how much food you consume, and how full you feel.
Hormones send signals to your brain to tell it whether you’re full or hungry. However, according to WebMD, it takes your brain about 20 minutes to receive these messages. To give your brain time to recognize that you’re full, try eating more slowly.
Doing this will also allow you to chew more thoroughly, which is known to help with weight control. Simply slowing down can help you incorporate healthy eating into your daily life.
2. Increase Your Protein Consumption
Protein is known as the king of nutrients, and one can say it does have some superpowers. It’s often known as the most filling of the macronutrients due to its impact on hunger and satiety hormones. Additionally, protein helps to maintain muscle mass and may slightly increase the calories you burn daily.
It also prevents the loss of muscle mass, which often occurs with weight loss and aging. If you’re on a weight loss journey, increase your daily protein consumption. It’ll curb cravings and make you feel fuller for longer, lowering your likelihood of overeating.
Lean meat is a great protein source that offers other nutrients. According to the North American Meat Institute, lean beef is one of the tastiest and most effective methods of meeting the recommended daily amounts of 10 key vitamins and minerals, including iron, riboflavin, selenium, niacin, zinc, magnesium, iron, and B vitamins.
3. Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking enough water is key to maintaining optimal health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that drinking water can help with weight loss and maintenance and may even slightly increase the calories you burn daily. Drinking water prior to meals can also reduce your appetite and food consumption at the subsequent meal.
Water should be the beverage you consume most. This will significantly lower the calories and sugar you consume. Regularly drinking water can also improve your diet quality and reduce your calorie intake.
4. Bake or Roast More
How you cook your food significantly determines its effect on your health. The most often used techniques for cooking meat and fish are deep-frying, frying, broiling, and grilling. However, several potentially toxic compounds are created when using these kinds of cooking techniques. These include heterocyclic amines, advanced glycation end products, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These substances have been associated with several illnesses, including heart disease and cancer.
Opt for healthier cooking methods such as stewing, slow cooking, simmering, pressure cooking, poaching, broiling, and baking. These techniques don’t produce these harmful compounds and will make your food healthier. While it’s okay to occasionally enjoy grilled or deep-fried dishes, consider using these methods more sparingly.
5. Find a New Fast Food Restaurant
There’s a common misconception that eating out has to involve unhealthy foods. However, you can find a fast-food restaurant that offers healthier options. There are several healthy fast food restaurants that offer healthy and tasty meals. They’ll definitely be an upgrade to your favorite pizza or burger joint.
6. Cook at Home More
One of the most effective ways of incorporating healthy eating into your daily life is by cooking at home more. This way, you’ll be in control of everything that goes on your plate. This means you can manage your potions in terms of the ratio of vegetables to carbohydrates and proteins.
To motivate yourself to use your kitchen more, consider upgrading your countertops, which is a common renovation project for homeowners. About 95% of homeowners planning to renovate say that kitchen countertops are on top of their list this year. Upgrading your countertops will give you that extra push you need to cook more!
What you eat has a direct impact on your health. Use this read as a guide for incorporating healthy eating into your diet in 2023!
