What should I eat?
What should I eat? Is it good for me or not? Either we fixate over our food or just couldn’t be bothered - two ends of the spectrum most people find themselves at.
I see people obsessing over their diets – following an unhealthy on-off relationship while constantly looking for the one diet that will give them their desired body shape. They experience phases of satisfaction (when seeing results), low energy and lack of motivation (when finding it hard to stay the course), frustration and depression (when they fall off the diet).
On the other hand, there are those who choose to stay ‘diet-free’, eating as they want. Reasons ranging from ‘I love food too much’, to ‘it’s too hard to stay on a diet’ or ‘it’s just too confusing to decide on what is good or not’.
However, there is a mid-point. Where you can see results and stay motivated for the long-term - while feeling physically, mentally and emotionally sated.
I think how you eat should be more of an individual lifestyle choice, rather than about following (obsessing over) whichever is the current popular diet.
Following a healthy eating lifestyle should start by minimising highly processed foods, that feel convenient to eat or drink but are high in sugar, fats, preservatives and more. Sugary, ‘high-energy’ drinks, sweet or savory snacks, energy bars and shakes, to name some. These easy-to-reach-for, ‘feel good’ foods are hugely responsible for unhealthy eating habits.
Most of us already know this. However, it just feels so easy to give in – because we think it will make us feel better or because we think we are hungry or that we deserve a ‘treat’.
Our minds are capable of coming up with any number of reasons, to convince ourselves, of the need to indulge or be careless of our food choices.
Another positive habit to ensure good eating is to focus on what you can eat rather than what you have to restrict or avoid. This simple shift in thinking can move us from feeling deprived and unhappy to feeling sated, energised and motivated.
Because you workout do you think you can eat what you want?
A common misconception is that following a regular workout program gives us the freedom to eat as we like. After all, we tell ourselves, that’s the reason we exercise so that we can eat and drink as we please.
The truth is - it’s easy to out-eat your exercising. Unhealthy, careless eating choices will lead to low energy, lack of motivation, and health concerns.
It’s important to find a healthy balance between your eating habits and fitness program. It’s really a loop – where one fuels the other. You need to eat adequately to maintain energy levels, stay healthy and achieve your fitness and weight goals.
How and what you eat will also depend on the goals of your fitness and workout program. Are you exercising to lose weight, build strength, improve your endurance?
Increasingly people are making their fitness and diet choices based on social media and internet information on popular sportspersons, athletes, media personalities and celebrities. However, the lifestyles, goals, needs of these individuals, along with the resources available to them are vastly different from most of us. Such workout and eating programs are not going to suit the lifestyle, goals or abilities of the average individual.
Keep it simple and consistent.
Achieving and following a healthy eating lifestyle need not involve adopting strict diets or trying to dramatically overhaul your eating patterns. These, more often than not, lead to us feeling deprived, or frustrated when unable to maintain beyond a short period of time.
Instead look to making small changes, consistently, over a period of time. These changes may seem small and not rewarding enough in the immediate time-frame but these are what will turn into habits that get incorporated into your daily life. Leading to the results that you wanted, not just for a short time but for a lifetime.
Start with daily, weekly goals. For instance, if you rely on many cups of tea or coffee to get you through the day, start by reducing one cup a day. You’re more likely to sustain that than trying to suddenly give it up completely. Once the ‘one less cup a day’ becomes a habit, you can look to further cutting out another cup! This can apply to anything that you want to reduce or remove from your eating habits. You are far more likely to be successful in maintaining these changes over a long period of time.
Make changes that you can sustain for a lifetime, helping you get rid of the unhealthy yo-yo dieting cycle.
Do you think you need a diet plan to control your eating?
When following a particular diet – be sure that it fits your lifestyle. Your eating pattern should allow you to lead an active, happy, energised lifestyle. Not leave you feeling tired, unhappy or unable to do things that you would like to do.
If you choose to follow a specific diet-plan, an important consideration should be its ability to help you maintain good health with respect to increasingly common lifestyle-related health concerns such as cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes.
Food is one of life’s main sources of enjoyment and an important part of our social lives and happiness.
Following an overall healthy eating lifestyle will give you the space to be able to enjoy some of your favorite foods or drinks - in moderation.
Eat mindfully and intuitively.
Learn to listen to your body and watch for signals that trigger eating binges. At the same time eating mindfully and consciously will allow your mind to register and appreciate what you are having, and help you register when you are actually sated. This manner of focus will help prevent unmindful over-eating, and boredom eating that we very often fall prey to.