Healthy Eating Patterns
Step 1 — Shop Healthy
The key to healthy eating is the shopping. To eat healthy, you must have healthy foods available and limit access to unhealthy foods. This means stocking your fridge with fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. When at the grocery store, shop the outside loop of the store. That’s where the produce, dairy, and fresh meat are. The center of the store is primarily filled with packaged foods. Limit packaged food. Focus on foods in the outer loop: fruits, vegetables, fresh meats (not processed), dairy, and whole grains. Those 5 types of food should make up most of your eating. Limit white carbs like white rice, white bread and potatoes, and avoid sweets and drinks with sugar. Keep nuts available for snacking.
Step 2 — Plan Your Meals
Establish a meal schedule. Set a regular time for eating and fasting. Limiting your eating window to 8 hours of the day can benefit your health. During your fasting window, drink only water, unsweetened tea, or coffee. If you start eating at 10 AM, finish before 6 PM. After 6 PM, no snacking. Snacking is for between meals, not before or after. That doesn’t mean you have to be rigid. When social calendars (also important) demand a different schedule, be flexible.
Step 3 — Examine Your Eating
In the evenings, we often make unhealthy food choices. We are tired and stressed and reach for something comforting, which can mean sweet, salty, or fatty foods. If you crave junk food, ask what you are trying to get from it. Snacks are often not about food but about comfort or a signal that we need some recharge time.
When you get that craving, substitute a healthier option. Reach for sparkling water instead of beer or wine. Reach for fruits or nuts instead of chips or cookies. Sometimes snacks are not about hunger at all but about habit. Replace bad choices with good ones. Don’t radically change your behaviour; instead, seek to shift your habits toward healthy.
