It’s the New Year!! Likely you are trying to implement some healthier habits into your routine. All year round, but especially right after the holidays, we get a ton of nutrition questions to help people get back on track.
Whether you are currently rocking out class at Edge Body, are about to start nutrition coaching or haven’t joined a gym yet- these are my top 4 tips to start turning things around with your daily eating habits! Everyone starts somewhere. Sometimes it helps to start basic with some healthy concepts and then work up from there.
1. Eat Whole Foods: Try to limit items that come from a box or package (or fast food) as much as you can. Depending on your current eating habits, this may look different for everyone. Maybe it’s limiting fast food to 2x/week. Regardless of where you are starting, this is so important to work towards your goals, lose body fat and get healthier.
2. Cook at Home: Yep that’s right, even if it’s a cheat meal or comfort food, you are better cooking it yourself than eating it out at a typical restaurant. When you cook at home, you are in control of all ingredients. You can choose healthy cooking oils and swap out healthier alternatives to different ingredients. Cooking meals at home will save you money and be a first step towards healthy meal prepping.
3. Watch out for the “Extras”: Good rule of thumb is to not drink your calories. People often underestimate how many calories and sugar are in soda, juices, sports drinks, alcoholic beverages, condiments and marinades etc. So be sure to check labels and ditch as many unnecessary items, that fall into this category, as you can. You can still splurge, but make sure you account for all liquids as well.
4. Portion Size: OK, you’ve heard this before. BUT trust me, if you’re eating what you should to fuel your body, it is actually a lot of food. So portion sizing is not just cutting back on the amount you eat, it is also there to make sure you are eating enough of the important items like protein, veggies etc. Portion size is crucial especially when tracking macros (protein, carbs, fat). Portion size helps us to get in the amount of food needed to fuel our workouts and help muscles recover while also aiding in weight loss by limiting the items we don’t need as much of.
There is a TON of nutrition info out there. It can be daunting to get started. Start with some of these basic healthy concepts to make healthy eating a lifestyle change. One step at a time!!