The Daily Habits You Won’t Want to Skip Out On. Part 2 Healthy Eating Habits to Try

When you make it a daily habit to eat well, you’re prioritizing your overall well-being and give yourself a chance to have optimum wellness. Healthy eating habits lowers your risk for chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. It also helps you maintain or lose weight to ensure you can stay active and enjoy what life has to offer.

Drink More Water

When in doubt, the first thing to consider doing differently for your diet is drinking more water. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a healthy diet change. The human body is made up of almost 60% water, which is why it’s crucial to stay hydrated. The brain and heart are composed of 73% water alone, so if you experience brain fog, up your water intake stat! Even if you don’t work out daily and sweat a lot, your body still needs water to operate properly.

A few ways to consume more water:

• Try flavored water – If you can’t get past plain water, you have some options. Add fruit slices like lemon or oranges to your water. You can also try coconut water (without added sugar) to get a boost of potassium and electrolytes.
• Put it in a pretty pitcher – Working from home and trying to keep your water intake up? Sometimes just putting your water in a nice-looking pitcher can make it more tempting to grab and drink. Or, have a few pre-filled, reusable water bottles ready to grab-and-go from the fridge. 
• Add a straw – Keep reusable drinking straws on hand to make it easier to consume the water you need. Some people find it makes it easier to get their daily water intake in when they drink out of a straw. See if it works for you.
• Change your drinking container – It may sound strange, but some people prefer drinking water from a glass instead of a plastic cup. Whatever you need to put yours in to drink more, do it!

Choose Healthy Snacks

It’s a lot easier to go for a bag of potato chips than for vegetables that aren’t pre-cut when you’re hungry. Keep a variety of healthy options in your fridge and on the counter to make it simple to snack smart.

Make it easier to grab healthy snacks whenever hunger strikes with these tips:

• Skip out on soda – See our above tip! Nix soda and try to drink water instead. Water intake is essential for optimal health.
• Keep it on the counter – If you have a bowl of fruit and veggies in sight, it’s a lot easier and more tempting to consume them. Try keeping bananas, apples, mango, avocados and tomatoes in a bowl to enjoy when you’re hungry.
  
• Pre-cut your veggies and fruits – When you want a snack, it’s a lot easier to grab and go when your snack is prepared already. Consider washing and cutting up your vegetables as soon as you come back from the store. Pre-cut celery, zucchini and other veggies and place in separate containers that make it easy to snack on with a side of nut butter or hummus. For fruits like apples, you may want to cut them up a day ahead of when you plan to eat them. Squirt apple slices with lemon juice to minimize browning!

A final easy tip for cutting out what’s not good for you: If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the nutrition label, it’s probably not healthy for you to eat. Put it back on the shelf and don’t tempt yourself by bringing it home.

Skip Stress Eating

You might consider ways you can let some time pass before you head to the fridge. Distract yourself in a way that you get caught up. This can allow you to reconsider after the activity if you were really hungry or simply looking for a stress distraction.

Ways to cope with emotional triggers instead:

• Drink water
• Read a book
• Take a long walk
• Do some deep breathing
• Acknowledge the behavior

Part of self-care is enjoying food. However, if you’re stress eating, it’s unlikely you’re able to fully and mindfully appreciate food. Take a moment each time you eat to consider how it’s nourishing your body and if you’re eating in a moment where you can truly slow down and appreciate each bite.

Put Your Fork Down

To go along with stress eating, this tip is one that makes it much easier to appreciate the meal in front of you. Often, it’s easy to rush through meals — especially a working lunch — and not fully enjoy the flavors, textures, and sights of a meal.

Benefits of putting your utensils down:

• Less likely to overeat
• It’s easier to savor the food
• You can enjoy conversation more 

After each bite, put your fork down. Take a sip of water. Savor the flavors. You’ll be less likely to overdo it with your meal if you take the time to see how full your stomach really is.