Make Healthy Eating Fun - Nutrition Tips For Choosing Healthy Foods

A healthy diet is something very important to have in your life. Eating healthy will make you drop a lot of weight even if you don’t exercise. However, if you combine the two, you will be very happy with the results. Having a healthy diet boosts your mood. When you eat healthy foods you feel good about yourself because you know that you’re not going to gain weight. You know what you’re eating is healthy and you won’t feel guilty or bloated afterwards. When you eat greasy foods or foods that are high in fat, your body feels it. Sometimes you’ll feel bad and wish you never ate it, but it probably tasted great going down. You can make delicious meals without feeling depressed about eating them after.

Healthy eating can be fun because it’s a new learning experience for people who aren’t used to it. It may be a very big change for some people, but once you get used to it, it’s not so bad. You’ll be able to eat more than ever! Everyone loves to eat right? I know I do! I eat all day long but I never stress about it because I know I am not eating anything fattening. That’s my favorite part about eating healthy foods. I eat a lot of grilled chicken, peanut butter, whole wheat breads, 100 calorie snacks, fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables are very important because they make you so full. You can eat as many vegetables as you want. That’s the magic about eating healthy foods. You can eat all day long whenever you want. You just have to control your intake if you’re going to eat a food that has a lot of calories, that’s all. For example, if you want to eat a cheeseburger or something fatty, you should eat half of it or even a smaller portion just until you lose the weight. You can then eventually eat the whole thing if you wanted to because you’ll know how to control yourself. 

I allow myself to eat about 1,600 calories a day. I figured that number out according to my height and weight. Once you figure out how many calories you should have, you can start chowing down because now you know your limit!  I spread my calories out throughout the day because I like to eat frequently.

However, if you want to eat a lot during one meal, you can do that also. That should be your main meal and you have to be aware not to overeat later in the day. You don’t have to count calories but just be aware of how many you’re taking in. Sometimes I do that for dinner if I know i am going to eat a big meal. If i am going out to a restaurant, I will eat very light during the day and save all my calories for dinner.            

One very important thing to remember when you’re eating is to eat until you are satisfied. Don’t eat until the point where you feel like your going to explode. That’s overeating and that is how you will certainly gain weight. When I eat healthy I feel really good about myself. I find myself to be less stressed and I feel more relaxed throughout the day. I think I feel that way because I know that I am not gaining weight. If anything, I'm definitely losing some.

Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly hungry and that I just can not get full. All I want to do is keep eating. When this happens I try to suppress my appetite by drinking large glasses of water in between meals to stop me from stuffing my face! It really does work. If I want to snack or eat in between meals, I will eat foods that will benefit my weight lose or make my metabolism faster. For example, I will snack on a tablespoon of peanut butter because it keeps me full. Peanut butter is known as a belly flattening food. I also snack on fiber bars because fiber speeds up your metabolism.

Some good foods to snack on are the ones that burn more calories than they contain, such as celery, oranges, apples, tangerines, apricots, strawberries, grapefruits, carrots, lettuce, watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, hot chili peppers, cauliflowers, and zucchinis! Once you start eating healthy, it becomes easy along the way and if you want the great results to stick, you must continue to eat healthy for the rest of your life. Don’t be scared or discouraged by that because eating healthy is a great thing. You should want to eat healthy and you should be proud doing it. Don’t make yourself suffer of course. If you want fat one day, then do it!

You should always give yourself a splurge day once a week to eat whatever you want. Just make sure your diet is generally a healthy one. When I say "diet" I mean “way of eating”. Feel free to cheat here and there once you get to your goal weight. Just don’t fall into any bad eating habits again. There’s a difference between eating bad sometimes (which would be treating yourself here and there) and having a very unhealthy diet. Once you start your healthy lifestyle, you’ll be able to tell the difference. Just remember that it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. I will be eating this way forever. Now go and do the same!

By Kaitlyn Flynn