Get Back On Track For Eating Healthier

If losing weight is the inspiration behind a person’s resolve for a healthier lifestyle, it's easy to lose momentum.

The number on the scale should not always be the primary focus for changing one’s eating habits, because weight loss is a slow process. For many people, “scale watching,” becomes too discouraging and they give up.

Whether or not a person loses weight should never be a deterrent to eating right.

Better health for its own sake should be the motivating factor, and at the end of the day there is nothing so rewarding as feeling better.

The best way to get on a path for real, lasting change is by setting realistic, sustainable goals.

Obviously the most beneficial thing a person can commit to is to avoid high-carb, high-fat, and/or high-sugar snacks. That is the first step to getting on the right track toward better health.

Positive reinforcement can help strengthen one’s resolve to eat better. Find a partner or group of friends with the same health objective, and communicate as often as is necessary to bolster each other in the shared pursuit for better health. Share tips and recipes.

Fast foods:

While it’s true that drive-thru fast foods and pre-packaged, over-processed meals are bad for us, life demands that we have foods we can access on the fly.

Too often, especially after a day at the office, it’s easy to succumb to the temptation to go through the drive-thru because there isn’t already a better alternative waiting at home.

For those seeking to improve their health, the term, “fast foods” needs to be redefined.

It’s up to each person to figure out ways to stave of hunger with a healthy choice, until a meal can be cooked.

Be proactive. When preparing healthy meals, cook extra, and make your own microwaveable dinners that can be frozen for future use, or eaten at work the next day.

Dust off the crock pot and put it to good use, making healthy main dishes or soups that will be hot and ready at the end of the day.

Just about any combination of vegetables, meats or legumes can be turned into a satisfying soup.

The most obvious healthy choice is vegetable soup which can be made with beef, venison, chicken or turkey. If the soup is made without meat, it’s best to pair it with a protein. Some good choices are a half a peanut butter sandwich, a dish of cottage cheese or a couple of ounces of some type of white cheese.

A high protein diet can actually help promote weight loss and also helps prevent people from regaining weight they have lost.

The same protein rule applies to salads.

Certainly, skim the fat, but as long as the salad includes an adequate amount of protein in the ingredients, the salad becomes a meal within itself.

Most salads fit the description of healthy choices, but eating them can get tedious without changing things up.

There is no need for boredom, when there are as many variations as there are different foods.

Who doesn’t like a good taco salad? Make it healthy by omitting the sour cream, and dress it with a sugar-free salsa.

Other good choices are a BLT salad (go light on the bacon or use turkey bacon and top with a light thousand island dressing); a western salad; or a waldorf salad (the latter dressed with a mix of 2 T sugar substitute or honey, 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1 1/2 T lemon juice).

Freshen a bowl of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce with a splash of lemon juice, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.

A pasta salad can also be a good choice as long as it includes protein and vegetables, but is light on the fat.

The food pyramid is still the best guide for determining what foods should be eaten every day.

Recommended servings are: Three to six ounces of some type of grain and/or starchy vegetable (such as corn or potato); two half cup servings of fruit; two and a half cups of (non-starchy) vegetables; five and a half-ounce equivalents of protein (meats, nuts, seeds, beans, peas or lentils); and two to three servings of fat or oils.

The amazing thing about eating for better health is that weight loss is usually an added bonus...along with some wonderful “gains” such as more energy, better sleep, better skin and a better memory.