When it comes to losing weight, dieting can be difficult as many options out there only deliver temporary results. At North Jersey Health & Wellness, we believe in maintaining a well-balanced diet that focuses on sustainability and bettering your physical, mental, and emotional wellness.
In this blog, we explore the ways in which a healthy lifestyle can improve your weight loss journey and overall lifestyle.
1.) The importance of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a well-balanced diet
Eating three meals a day is important for several reasons. First, the human body needs to maintain healthy energy and glucose levels in order to function properly. Second, eating breakfast can help jumpstart your metabolism and prevent hunger cravings. Finally, skipping meals can lead to overeating later in the day, which can counteract the progression of your weight loss goals.
2.) Your diet should be a melting pot of healthy fats, carbs, lean protein, and nutrients
When it comes to your overall health, eating a variety of nutritious foods is essential for receiving the vitamins and minerals needed to function properly every day. For example, carrots contain beta carotene, which gives our eyesight a boost, and spinach contains iron, which helps carry oxygen throughout the body.
Healthy foods in a well-balanced diet include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Nuts & seeds
- Lean proteins (i.e. fish, chicken, egg)
By maintaining a well-balanced diet, you’ll find that your hunger levels stay at bay and you won’t have any cravings, which often lead down a path of overeating unhealthy foods. Many people also say that when they focus more on what they eat rather than how much they eat, it helps them feel empowered rather than deprived and improves their overall mood. This can lead to enhanced energy levels, which can also increase the motivation to exercise.
3.) Avoid fast food, junk food, and sugary drinks as much as possible
It can be hard to say no to fast food when we live in an era of convenience. But consistent eating habits like these have been associated with health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
If you want to improve your diet without giving up too much of what you love, try drinking more water to reduce any cravings, limiting yourself to one sugary drink per week, or cutting down on sugar and saturated fats in other areas of your diet. This way when you do want to splurge a little, you don’t get too far off track!
4.) But give yourself the grace to splurge every once in a while
We all have a moment where we crave that chocolate chip cookie or ice cream, and it can be hard to resist. Eating these foods in moderation is not going to derail your weight loss efforts, but eating them every day will make it harder for you to lose those extra pounds. You’ve probably heard the term everything in moderation and we believe that’s the best way to stay on track with your goals.
By treating ourselves every so often, it gives us an outlet for those cravings without affecting our progress as if we were eating them every day. Again, moderation is the name of the game and the perfect way to maintain a well-balanced diet that doesn’t deprive you of your favorite foods.
It’s time to ditch the fad diet and embrace a new lifestyle
What we eat to fuel our bodies can have a profound impact on our brain health, mood, weight, and energy levels. In short, our diet influences the quality of life that we experience every single day. If weight loss is your ultimate goal, there are no shortcuts or quick fixes. Everything is a process and creating good habits while giving yourself grace when you don’t follow those habits is key.