If you’re going to look at the food that you’ve been eating frequently, you will find that most of them are processed food. You can blame your busy schedule all you want but the fact is that you need to make some smart changes to your diet if you don’t want to put yourself at risk from various health problems like obesity, heart issues, and the like. Avoiding processed foods is a must but going cold turkey is not going to be that easy. Easing back on your consumption of this kind of food is considerably better since you will be able to maintain it for a long time.
If you are thinking of reducing the amount of processed foods that you’re eating, here are a few tips for you to try.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables during meal times. One way for you to cut back on your processed foods is by adding two or more fruits or vegetables on your plate during meal times. This will ensure that you are getting your much needed vitamins and minerals which will already improve your health significantly. Even if you are still eating processed food, you are balancing it out with some much needed nutrients. Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables while reducing the processed food every week.
- Swap your drinks with the real thing. If your choice of liquid during meals is soda or artificial fruit juice, you need to swap them out with water, tea, kombucha, coconut milk, or actual fruit juice which contains fruit and water only. Regardless of whether you are drinking diet soda or not, you are still putting on weight because of the empty calories that they contain. Not only that, they contain artificial sweeteners which can affect your health if you consume them on a regular basis.
- Choose organic meat. Adding meat to your diet is okay as long as it is organic and should be eaten three or four times a week. Too much of it can lead to various heart problems which you need to avoid at all cost. It is also a good idea to opt for leaner cuts so that there will be less fats being eaten.
- Skip the fast food. Although it is quite tempting to order take-out especially when you just came home from work, spending a little time cooking your own food is much better. If you can, prepare your meals ahead of time so you can just heat it when you get home. This way, you won’t be tempted to eat foods that are processed anymore.
- Evaluate your current condition. After a month, take the time to reflect on how you feel overall. Do you feel better or are you feeling sluggish just like before? It is important that you pay attention to any changes that you may be feeling so you will know which areas of your diet you need to improve on especially when you’re trying to eliminate processed foods from your regular diet.
