Five tips to create a healthful diet that you can enjoy.
- Learn to think about food in a new way. Years ago, meat and potatoes were the American ideal. Now we know that vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and fish are best.
- Experiment with new recipes and meal plans. Be creative and take chances. Instead of dreading your new diet, have fun with it.
- Change slowly. By the time you are 40, you'll have eaten some 40,000 meals—and lots of snacks besides. Give yourself time to change, targeting one item a week.
Start with breakfast, switching from eggs, bacon, donuts, white toast, or bagels to oatmeal or bran cereal and fruit. If you just can't spare 10 minutes for a sit-down breakfast, grab high-fiber cereal bars instead of donuts or muffins.
Next, try out salads, low-fat yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese, tuna or peanut butter sandwiches, and fruit for lunch.
Snack on unsalted nuts, trail mix, fruit, raw veggies, Rye Krisp, or graham crackers. Try eating a few handfuls of a crunchy fiber cereal such as Kashi, or nibble on a cereal bar.
For dinner, experiment with fish, skinless poultry, beans, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, and, of course, salads and veggies.
Fruit and low-fat frozen desserts are examples of desirable after-dinner treats. And there's nothing wrong with the occasional cake, pie, or chocolates as long as the portions are moderate.
- Be relaxed about your diet. You will never find a perfect food. Not everything on your plate needs to have a higher purpose. Take your tastes and preferences into account. If roast beef is your favorite food, it is okay to eat it—but try to make it a Sunday treat instead of a daily staple. The choices are your—and the better your overall diet, the more "wiggle room" you'll have to indulge your passions.
Source: Harvard Health Publications
0 comments:
Post a Comment