Eating healthily can feel difficult in a world where we’re surrounded by convenience and junk foods. But it is possible to eat healthily and genuinely enjoy the foods you are preparing for yourself. Here are three tips that will help you to adopt a more healthy diet!
Find Some Quality Recipes
People often don’t eat healthily because they find that take outs, ready meals and other convenience foods have more flavor or are generally more enjoyable to eat. This needs to change. It is possible to cook delicious, but healthy, meals yourself. You’re just going to have to get a bit experimental and figure out some dishes you can cook well. This is where quality recipes can come into play. Think of dishes you like, search for healthy recipes for these dishes and take the time to try to make them. With practice, you’ll get good results!
Have the Equipment and Tools You Need
It’s all good and well having a bunch of healthy recipes to try. But if you don’t have the equipment and tools you need to make the meals, chances are, you’re going to end up skipping them and opting for something different - and potentially unhealthy - instead. Now, kitchen equipment can be pricey, so why not purchase one item a month and gradually build up your collection? This will also give you time to research the different items and take advantage of discounts or sales. Whether you’ll get use out of Top cookware on ceramic glass, a spiralizer, a tofu press, a stand mixer or anything else, note it down on your Wishlist and gradually work your way towards it.
Stay Within Your Recommended Calorie Range
Even when you’re eating well and healthily, you need to make sure that you’re still staying within your recommended calories. Calories are a unit of measurement that are used to measure the energy that you’re putting into your body through food (which is essentially a fuel). If you put too much fuel into your body, it will be put into reserves - often fat, which can eventually cause issues such as obesity. If you eat healthily but don’t eat enough calories, you will burn more energy than you’re using and this can lead to problems such as being underweight. Now, the amount of calories you should be eating on a daily basis can be impacted by factors such as your age, sex and activity levels. This guide should give you a rough idea of how many calories you might need to incorporate into your meals and snacks each day.
Children aged 2 to 8 - 1000 to 1400 calories
Girls aged 9 to 13 - 1400 to 1600 calories
Boys aged 9 to 13 - 1600 to 2000 calories
Active women aged 14 to 30 - 2400 calories
Sedentary women aged 14 to 30 - 1800 to 2000 calories
Active men aged 14 to 30 - 2800 to 3200 calories
Sedentary men aged 14 to 30 - 2000 to 2600 calories
Active adults over 30 - 2000 to 3000 calories
Sedentary adults over 30 - 1600 to 2400 calories
There are plenty of other steps you can try out on your journey to a healthier diet, but hopefully, those outlined above will help get things started out in the right direction!