Where to Start with Eating Healthy

The concept of getting healthy can be super overwhelming. It can be hard to know where to even get started. Throughout my time in undergrad, I’ve learned various tips that can help you to succeed in shifting your lifestyle to a more healthy one! Today, I will share five, but lookout for more in the future.

1. First, make sure you have your motivation. Change can take a little bit of effort, and that is always easier if you have a reason why it is important to you. Think about this for a minute and write it down somewhere where you’ll see it daily to remind you! Some examples would be wanting more energy throughout the day, wanting to get off of a medication, or wanting to reduce the risk of a chronic disease that runs in your family.

2. Baby steps! Start by choosing a change that is realistic for you, and focus on one thing at a time. Don’t be worried about the goal being too small. You want it to be achievable, as it is better to start small and grow than to start big and get discouraged. Examples of preliminary goals: drink 4 glasses of water a day, add a vegetable to every dinner, switch a quarter of your grains to whole grains.

3. Focus on adding things, not taking them away! The goal is to make changes that will be sustainable, so you don’t want to feel restricted. For example, think about adding water, rather than taking away soda, or adding vegetables, rather than taking away Doritos.

4. Put up sticky notes near where you would be doing this new habit! If you are adding veggies to dinner, put a sticky note on the fridge so that you are reminded when you go to make dinner. If you’re trying to eat more whole grains, put a sticky note on your white rice to remind you to think about using brown instead. If you’re trying to drink more water, set an alarm every so often, reminding you to drink water.

5. Wait until you are comfortable with the habit you have formed, and you no longer have to think about it. Once it is second nature, add in a new change you want to implement! This could be increasing the goal you’ve already worked on (i.e. moving up to ½ of your grains being whole grains instead of ¼), or it could be a completely new one. Do whatever you think is most achievable and will work best for you!

Don’t be hard on yourself! Be proud of any steps you make towards living a healthy lifestyle. If you try out these tips, be sure to let me know in a comment below or on Instagram (@mothernaturesdaughterr).