subject: Small Steps to Improve Your Diet and Health [print this page] Eating for good health doesn't have to be hard, but making changes can be. Good news though, there are many small steps that you can easily take to get you on the road to healthier eating. By purchasing different items at the grocery store, or choosing a different chip to eat you can painlessly lead your way to a healthier life. Here are some specific steps you can take to improve your diet and health.
1. Choose healthy oils. Not all oil is bad for you. Olive oil and canola oil are both healthy alternatives that can help your heart, not hurt it.
2. Broil don't fry. Frying things (even in healthy oils) is about the worst way you can prepare foods. Broiling and baking are both healthier alternatives that can still taste good.
3. Read labels. You don't have to read every single ingredient, but there are some things you should avoid. Hydrogenated fats are a big one to avoid. We also try to avoid artificial colors and high fructose corn syrup. This can be a pain, so if you want to make it even easier, I have found that the shorter the ingredient list, the better it is for you. So rather than eating Doritos that have 30 ingredients, choose the Fritos that have 3. When deciding which cracker to buy, take a quick glance at the ingredient list and pick the shorter one.
4. Choose frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned. Canned fruits and veggies typically have a lot of added salt and sugar. Frozen almost never does. Fresh is even better.
5. Drink water. Soda is about the worst thing for health, but I know it can be hard for some people to avoid. At the very least limit it. If you don't like water, try other drinks instead of soda. Juice, lemonade, flavored waters, and tea are all healthier options than soda.
6. Pick fast food which are good for health. We all get stuck eating out at some point or another and frankly, I just like to go out to eat sometimes. That being said, there are healthier restaurants. Subway, Quiznos and Panera all come to mind for healthier, fast, and inexpensive meals out. Sandwiches with lots of veggies on them are always going to be healthier than a hamburger or fried chicken.
7. Keep the unhealthy stuff out of your house. If candy is your weakness, don't go buy big bags of it. If you have a craving, go for the individual bars you find at the check out counter. One bar a week is better than a whole bag a week.
8. If you have a problem with portion control, eat off of a salad plate, instead of a dinner plate. This will automatically limit how much you give yourself.
9. Don't ever eat out of the box or bag. Always take the portion you want and put it in something different. It is way too easy to overeat when you have the whole bag in front of you.
You know yourself better than anyone and you know your weaknesses. Figure out areas that you could easily improve to help you lead a healthier life. Once you make some small changes, it should be pretty easy to keep them up. Good luck and stay healthy.
