Making lifestyle changes can sometimes be overwhelming, but it should not always be stressful. Follow these tips to eliminate stress related to diet and take more time to enjoy your wellness trip!
Dive into meal planning, starting with protein!
Check your calendar and plan your meals based on events or outings that you may have that week. Start by looking in your refrigerator and pantry to find the ingredients you could use. Plan your meals based on the protein you already have, such as chicken, beef, eggs, fish, tofu or legumes. If you are missing ingredients, check your local grocery store flyers for weekly promotions and use them as inspiration!
2. Balance your plate
A quick way to get the most out of your meal is to follow the balanced plate method. Try to prepare a quarter of your plate as protein, a quarter of starch, such as potatoes, rice or pasta, and the rest, half of your plate, in the form of vegetables. This method will allow you to get all the nutrients you need in your day, without having to break your head.
3. Stay on track
The path to healthier eating is often disrupted by unpredictable situations, such as a dinner with friends or a family event. Do not let this stress you! Try to adopt the balanced plate method for your restaurant dishes too. And if it's your favorite restaurant and you really want this penne dish with Alfredo sauce, eat it! The path to lifestyle changes does not mean restricting yourself to something you really want to eat.
4. Make small changes
Lifestyle changes are hard to make, and no one expects you to change your whole life in a day, a week or even a month! Making small changes, one at a time, is a great way to start. For example, try replacing your vegetable oils with olive oil to get healthier fats, or try replacing your white bread with whole grain bread to get more fiber! Once you have adopted the change into your daily routine, try to put another one in place.
Try these tips to get all the nutrients your body needs without additional stress. Remember that it is recommended to follow these tips most of the time, but it does not matter if it's not every day, with every meal. Eating should first and foremost be enjoyable and eating well should not compromise that pleasure.
