“Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.”
– Auguste Escoffier
Making healthy food choices is not only good for the body but good for the mind as well. Research shows the positive effects mood and emotions have on eating and how an optimistic outlook encourages us to take better care of ourselves through more movement and healthier eating habits. This same research proves how strongly a continuum of negative self-talk and pessimistic view relates to poor food choices, emotional eating behaviors, and many other physical, mental and emotional consequences.
Change is always hard and making positive LEAN choices to improve health and reduce disease risk is no exception. However, your mindset about these necessary lifestyle changes will propel you toward more success or become a constant roadblock preventing progress. If you believe eating healthier deprives yourself of food you love, it will be difficult to make necessary nutritional choices to reach health goals. Look at including more fruits and vegetables, exercise, and positive lifestyle habits as a journey of self-discovery and improvement. You will experience more success with fewer setbacks. Getting out of your way starts with a mind shift and will determine your willingness to learn and grow during the journey toward your best self.
What is your mindset about the value of taking care of yourself?
The road to optimal health is found in your LEAN habits, and the food choices you make every day will inevitably result in the most significant source of health or devastating disease and illness. I will share a few simple facts about the American diet and typical roadblocks to healthy eating in hopes that I can change your mind about choosing more nutritious food options and establishing a healthy eating habit.
Facts about the “typical” American diet:
The acronym for the Standard American Diet is S.A.D., and it is that exactly. Fruit and vegetable consumption in America is declining as more and more Americans opt for fast, easy, and cheap convenience foods to accommodate their over-stress and sleep-deprived lifestyles. Consuming a wide variety of fruits and vegetable provides the body with valuable vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Without these necessary nutrients, the body slowly becomes ill with chronic physical diseases that plague our countries, such as type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity. Poor and overly-processed diets will also have adverse effects on our mental and emotional health, lead to poor self-image and insecurities, disordered and emotional eating, and many other self-sabotaging behaviors.
Why many clients struggle to eat healthier:
Most of my clients complain that the number one perceived barrier is lack of time due to competing commitments. They are so busy juggling work, kids, and relationships and think they don’t have time to make healthier food options a priority and end up picking up pizza because “it’s easy.”
They continue to steer toward convenience foods despite the undeniable research showing how tightly linked our thoughts and emotions are to food choices and the devastating health consequences of the S.A.D. way of eating. With all this stacked against you, how do you begin building better healthy eating habits and achieving desired health goals?
Aside from hiring a health coach to help walk you through the specific steps, here are a few simple, quick tips you can begin practicing today!
Quick tip #1 - Bring more healthy food options into your home and slowly begin removing harmful processed foods as they run out. Remember this simple fact of human behavior:
If unhealthy foods are in your environment (home), you will eat them!
If healthy food is in your environment (home), you will eat it!
Make good food options quick and easy to access and not-so-good food choices inconvenient and difficult to access. Need some help? Try our pantry makeover virtual health coaching package or Introduction to Meal Planning 101 health coaching course!
Quick tip #2 - Start taking baby steps in a better direction! When beginning your better health journey, you have to start somewhere, and starting with a few basic meal prep options can be just the thing to get you started. Begin to mindfully plan and intentionally practice one small thing you can do to bring more healthy food options into your kitchen! Here are a few easy and time saving quick grab and go options to get you started:
Easy meal prep for grab and go from home:
Having healthy food available at home is a lifestyle choice, and it doesn’t need to be overly complicated or time-consuming.
Cut up fruit and raw vegetables – No limits on fresh fruits and vegetables! These should be your go-to quick and easy access food choices.
Hard-boiled eggs – Having a few premade hard-boiled eggs in the fridge is an easy grab-and-go source of protein. I use this electric hard-boiled egg cooker that is quick and easy with minimal clean-up.
Pre grilled and sliced chicken – Grill several pieces of lean chicken breast and store or freeze for adding to salads or snacking on with vegetables.
Hummus and nut butter for dipping – Need a bit of added healthy fats for flavor? Add a couple of tablespoons of healthy dipping options.
Raw or dry roasted nuts – Another healthy fat added to natural fruit and vegetable snacks. Although healthy fat, don’t go overboard and mindlessly eat from the bag! Please read the label and serve yourself a single serving, and enjoy them slowly.
Simple Mills almond flour crackers – A gluten-free source of simple carbohydrates for energy. Read the label and stick to a proper portion size.
On the go options:
Starbucks boxes – Word of warning here!!!! Don’t be tempted by the high-calorie fancy coffee drinks and sugary sweets! Have a plan, order from the app, and run in to pick up one of the Protein boxes. Two of my favorites are the Eggs and cheddar and Grilled Chicken and Hummus.
Premade salads (watch the dressing) – Many grocery stores offer quick grab-and-go meals, and the choice to pop by a local grocery store for a premade salad will be a better choice than a greasy drive-thru.
Sushi fresh wraps – Sushi also seems to be just everywhere as another “better” choice in a pinch.
Quick tip #3 – Be realistic! When learning something new, you will have setbacks, make mistakes, and fall short of your goals. It’s ok and necessary to learn, grow, and become better and more efficient in our healthy eating practice. So go slow and don’t overwhelm yourself with too much at once. Rethink mistakes and setbacks as an opportunity to reassess and come up with a better plan and keep practicing!
The rest is up to you!
You received some real-life health coaching here, and I hope you can take the information and put it into practice today! If you need a bit more help getting started or a problem-solving buddy to help you get over a hurdle, we are here to help. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute consultation to see if working with a health coach can help you improve the way you live, move, think and eat for optimal health and wellness!
Please share what you’ve learned today with friends and family and help us make this a happier, healthier, and more purposeful world!
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