Developing and maintaining good nutrition requires intention… and planning! You know here at MOVE SMILE BREATHE we are all about developing healthy habits into routines. Today we’re sharing 3 simple steps to eating healthy every week.
We make our food choices at home based on what we have available to us. When rushed, tired, or just seeking comfort food we often make poor dietary choices. But if we don’t have access to those poor choices (junk food, processed food, etc.), we can’t make them. So don’t bring it home.
These three simple steps can help you get your nutrition back on track with meal planning and intentional shopping.
🧠 Build a mental framework for your diet.
Decide what a healthy diet looks like to you. Is it lean meat, fresh veggie, and a small serving of starch for dinner? Salads with protein for lunch? Fresh fruit and veggies for snacks instead of chips and crackers?
(There is no cookie-cutter diet that works well for every person and every family. But one staple across most healthy diets is limiting processed foods and opting for whole foods.) Decide before you leave the house that you are not going to through any highly processed foods with those ingredients you can’t pronounce into your shopping cart.
📝 Meal plan for the week.
Take the time BEFORE you hit the grocery store to write down your meals for the week.
One idea is to write down 5 dinner options for the week and then decide each night what you are in the mood to cook and eat. Once you have your meal ideas, check your pantry/fridge for the ingredients for each meal. Add whatever you don’t have on your shopping list.
Be intentional as you add healthy snacks, lunch options, breakfast, and staples to your list. Be willing to look at the labels and check to see how many added sugars have been added to the food item. Try to avoid as many added sugars as you can and ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.
And be intentional with planning your treats. After all, life is about balance. (Individually wrapped Dove dark chocolates occasionally end up in my cart and I like to eat one after dinner as my dessert sometimes.)
🛒 Hit the grocery store in the right frame of mind and body.
Don’t wait until 30 minutes before your usual dinner time to go to the store for your groceries. It’s too dangerous to go shopping hungry. LOL 😆 Try going after a good workout and a healthy meal so that you feel energized and motivated to eat healthily. Bring a bottle of water with you to stay hydrated while you shop as well.
These things will help you stay focused on your healthy list and avoid impulse buys!
Finding the nutrition plan that works best for you can be challenging! We work with clients 1:1 to determine their nutrition goals and build a plan that works best for them. Send us an email and let’s talk about getting your nutrition optimized for your life.
Comments
2 responses to “3 Simple Steps To Eating Healthy Every Week”
My food choices are not consistent to my proper choices. I know better but tend to think wrong. Bad habit is satisfying cravings. I know better but my choices are often wrong based on not controlling what I want versus what I like.
Pat, consistency is the best for us and also the hardest part for most of us too. Self-control is hard. We know what we should eat but still give in to our cravings. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Finding a balance is important. We don’t have to give up all of our favorite treats usually (unless your doctor tells us to) and we can still find a way to make healthier choices.