Imagine being told that you have to do something consistently, three times a day all your life. Isn't that tiring and wouldn't you try to find corners to cut so that you are not completely a servant of this activity? Well, that's food for us. If you want to grow well and maintain your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual relationships within yourself, you need to prioritise eating healthy. Let's get into the tips you need to consider for you to maintain a healthy relationship with food.
Prioritise Having a Balanced Diet
The thing with our bodies is that you can't just choose to eat one food for the rest of your life. This is impossible as your body will end up failing, leaving you sick and in need of medical treatments. For all your body parts to function well, they need several nutrients including both macronutrients and micronutrients. If you skip certain nutritional content that your body requires, you will develop an ailment relative to not having that nutrient in your body. You should, therefore, be mindful of your overall diet. If possible, you should even go as far as planning your meals every week so that you can ensure that you have well-rounded nutritional content when you eat. If you want to maintain a healthy relationship with food, then this should be your first step. Don't snooze on such valuable advice.
Control Your Food Portions
As much as it would be fun to eat a bucket full of your favourite wings in one sitting, it is not something you should do. I mean, shouldn't you be alarmed when you are now consuming a bowl of food that is bigger than your stomach itself? Not controlling your food portions will only result in overeating, which will result in you being obese and susceptible to a lot of life-threatening diseases. Instead of just piling up your plate with food, manage your food intake. Use a smaller plate and put smaller portions of food, and you will find out that all this while, you weren't hungry when you ate too much food; you were just greedy. So if you want to have a healthy relationship with food, stop being greedy and start controlling your food portions.
Stay Hydrated
A common misconception is that you should only drink water when you are now feeling thirsty. This is not true at all and if you think like this, then you need to revise your facts for the best interests of your health. When you are thirsty, this would be your body already complaining of your negligence. You, therefore, shouldn't wait to get thirsty but just continuously drink water throughout the day without being forced into it by your body. This concept is the same with cars as you need to take your car for service before a stipulated millage is reached and not when it now has numerous problems, otherwise it depreciates way quicker. For you to digest your food well, promote good skin health and keep your energy levels up, you, therefore, need to stay hydrated. This is an important part of your food journey, so don't neglect to stay hydrated, as it is key in sealing your healthy relationship with food.
Stop Eating Processed Foods
If only you knew the amount of damage that all that processed junk food you eat has, then maybe you would reconsider your food choices. Processed food contains unhealthy fats and sugars that do nothing positive for you but just contribute towards deteriorating your health. If your goal is to stay healthy and protect your body from harm, you should just stick to whole foods like grains, fruits, vegetables and meat in their primary state. Don't be deceived into thinking that processed food tastes better. You can make meals that are as tasty using whole foods, so stop relying on food that will deteriorate your health; instead, start targeting unprocessed food for your diet.
Pre-Plan Meals
One of the most common things that people universally agree on is buying takeout or junk food every time you get home tired and don't have the energy to cook. Since we, therefore, know the source of this problem, why not work it off so that you can enhance your relationship with food to become healthier? Which is where pre-planning your meals comes in. Take time at the beginning of the week and plan your meals for the whole week. Add the ingredients needed and ensure that you shop for them so that you stop making excuses to eat junk food. Start planning all your meals if you want to avoid last-minute temptations and fall prey to food that isn't even worth compromising your health over.
Take Note Of Your Body Signals
Just like computers and cars, when something isn't right in our body, it has a way of communicating with us. We just have to take the time to listen to the message and implement it. For example, if you eat sugary foods and feel hyped for a few seconds before going on reserved flat energy, then you should just stick to healthier options like fruits that leave you feeling good after eating them. Every reaction to food and hints of wanting something is a signal. You just have to get in sync with your body if you want to live a healthier life.