As a health enthusiast, you probably follow countless fitness influencers and vegan recipe creators on social media. You’ve probably been exposed to (and even tried) every diet out there – veganism, keto, intermittent fasting, IIFYM, you name it.
With so much conflicting information online when it comes to food, diet, and health, it can be difficult to determine what to follow and what to ignore.
The truth is, keeping things simple is one of the best approaches you could possibly follow – here are some tips to help you out.
Customize Your Diet
First of all, understand that a cookie-cutter diet or eating plan will never be able to fit you, your body, or your needs and preferences perfectly. This is why customizing your diet is key!
Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, or just staying healthy and taking care of yourself, you don’t need to follow anyone else’s diet, meals, or rules. When it comes to dietary advice, make sure to rather consult professionals – click here to read more about the dangers of blindly following diets you find online and avoid falling into the trap of cutting out gluten just because Fit Fiona said so.
Prioritize Whole Foods
Rather than taking handfuls of supplements, detox teas, and juice cleanses, focus on your health by prioritizing whole foods in your diet. This simply means that you should limit the amount of heavily processed foods you eat in a day.
Try to construct your meals from home as often as possible, and build them from simple ingredients – lean proteins, leafy greens, starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, whole grains, and some healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, or avocado. By simply focusing on natural ingredients, you’ll be nourishing your body and mind without any of the complicated rules and restrictions.
Eat Mindfully
By now, we’ve all heard the term “mindful eating,” but what does it really mean, and how do we do it? Mindfulness essentially refers to the act of being present at the moment, and we can easily apply this to our meals as well.
Mindful eating can involve paying close attention to your hunger cues – are you actually hungry or just in the mood for chocolate? Are you eating because your body needs it or because you’re stressed? You can also make sure to be more mindful at mealtimes by putting away screens and focusing on enjoying every mouthful slowly instead of rushing through your plate.
Find Balance
Finally, remember to be balanced when it comes to your diet. The intense focus on healthy eating in recent years has pushed thousands of people toward orthorexia, a lesser-known eating disorder that manifests as a fixation on only eating healthy foods.
While focusing on whole ingredients and being health-conscious by avoiding processed sugars and unnecessary preservatives in our food is a good change to make, we don’t need to take it too far. Enjoying a slice of cake from time to time is good for the body and the mind.
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