Written by: Laura Flanagan, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
If you’re currently not eating a healthy diet, it can be difficult to start. However, healthy eating along with some exercise is very important for maintaining a good bodily function and goes a long way towards living a disease-free life. If you struggle with healthy eating, then you know that breaking unhealthy habits can be the most difficult part of the process. Therefore, if you truly want to live the best lifestyle possible, it is important to follow simple steps to start eating a healthier diet.
A great first step when you want to start eating your way to a healthy lifestyle is to rid your home of all temptations that will distract you from following better eating habits. Ideally, it would be a wise course to keep junk foods and beverages out of your house so as not be tempted to snack during the day. If you’re worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like carrot sticks, yogurt, fresh fruit, or gluten-free crackers on hand. If you find that you just cannot bear to toss out the sweets, try keeping something tiny on hand, peppermints, or barley sugar. Eating a few, (emphasis on few) of these won’t ruin your diet but also will give you that little sugary fix you crave.
Another great step to healthy eating, when you’re first starting the process, is to take a few moments to learn what foods are the healthiest for you and how they work within the body. To start eating healthy we must begin by thinking healthy. Most people understand that fruits, vegetables, and low-fat meats are good for you, but few people understand why. The key is learning about nutrients. When you understand how specific nutrients work and why you need them, it becomes more reasonable for you to make healthier choices for your body. It can also be powerful to ‘eat all of the colors of the rainbow’ in your meals throughout the day. Knowledge really is power!
Preparation is a major key in commencing a new healthy diet. You must take into consideration your schedule for meals. If you often eat in a rushed hurry at odd times of day, you are probably more inclined to grab a rushed meal which will probably do more harm than good. So, plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast-food lunch on the go, take a bagged lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh fruit and vegetables. Remember not to forget your evening meal, a simple plan to have a meal ready before you get home would be perfect, but in our fast-paced lifestyle, sometimes this just can’t be done. One way to solve this problem is to plan out your evening meals for the week, on your days off. Perhaps just before you do your weekly shopping. Another warning: when going to the shops, do not venture there hungry because if you're anything like me, one or two chocolate bars won’t hurt! That becomes the first break in your healthy eating.
Initially many will find it very difficult to make those necessary changes to healthier eating. Along with the difficulty of change, you may not feel well for a short period of time. Usually, this is normal as your body is adjusting to your new and improved lifestyle and is cleansing itself from the unhealthy toxins built up from poor eating habits. However, if this feeling continues or you are worried a visit to your doctor would be the correct thing to do.
Start with baby steps. Even if you only replace one soda a day with a glass of water, you are really improving your calorie intake. If you eat fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that half of the time with better quality foods. When you start by taking small steps you aren’t cutting out all of the foods you love all at once. By taking your time to learn about your eating habits and slowly replacing them with better meals, by taking the time to learn and understand why you should be doing that and making the necessary changes in an orderly fashion, you will feel much better physically, mentally, and emotionally and you will be well on your way to optimal health!
If you want to learn more about the function and physiology of the myriad systems in your body and which nutrients to consume to optimize them, consider taking my 3-month Functional Nutrition Transformation program! Learn more about launch dates from my website and social media.
Laura Flanagan MS, RYT, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Laura Flanagan is a Molecular Biologist by education and career. She left her corporate job and moved to Costa Rica with her horse to open an Equine Therapy Center. Concurrently with her career as a scientist, she has been teaching Yoga and Meditation for over 20 years. Laura is a Yoga Instructor, Yamuna Body Rolling Instructor: Meditation Teacher, and Functional Nutrition Counselor - trained through the Functional Nutrition Alliance. She is a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She specializes in Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis to offer clients a better understanding of biomarkers and how they impact their health. She directs the Socrates Center in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica. She has helped thousands of clients with physical pain through her certification with Yamuna who uses a form of small ball therapy. She has used her Yoga, Body Rolling, Meditation, and Functional Nutrition practices to assist in her own recovery from breast cancer.
