Important rules when starting a healthy eating program:
Getting back or even starting a healthy eating regime can feel a little daunting. The best approach is to start slow. Below is a list of healthy rules that will help improve your overall health and vitality. Choose two rules to focus on each week and before you know it, you will be feeling healthy.
Week 1:
Eat less then you are used to, the average person overeats by 25%. Never overfill your stomach, always leave a small amount on the plate.
Chew your food longer than you are used to, 20 times each mouthful, this will aid digestion.
Week 2:
Leave at least 1-hour between eating fruit and your next meal, your digestive system needs a chance to process food.
Drink 2-3 litres of filtered water each day. Keep a bottle of water with you at all time. Aim to use stainless steel or glass bottles instead of plastic, this is better for the environment and contain no dioxins.
Week 3:
Limit alcohol, caffeine, bottled juices, soft drinks as they are full of empty calories.
Eat low GI carbohydrates, such as brown rice, quinoa, barley, millet, oats, buckwheat or amaranth, as they will help you feel fuller for long and help reduce sugar cravings.
Week 4:
Use avocado instead of butter or margarine.
Aim to eat every 2-3 hours. This will help reduce sugar craving and overeating on your next meal.
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Week 5:
Eat a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Good options include: fruit, vegetable sticks or juice, good quality low-sugar yoghurts, nuts and seed raw and unsalted, multigrain cracker with hummus and grated carrot, avocado and tomato, banana and tahini, miso soup or a berry smoothie.
Eat salad dressed with cold pressed olive oil or flaxseed oil. These oils are full of beneficial fats and should not be heated.
Week 6:
Aim to eat a mixture of animal or vegetarian protein with each meal. Protein is a very slow burning food group, which will help you feel fuller for longer and is also effective in helping to give the metabolism a boost. Aim to eat more fish, lean chicken, lean turkey, tofu, beans, lean red meat, nuts and seed and grains, such as quinoa or amaranth.
Try to eat organic food as they contain fewer pesticides, which contain heavy metals.
Week 7:
Eat as much raw food as possible; nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetable, tofu, sashimi and seaweed. Most raw foods are easier for the body to digest and have a higher nutrient and enzyme content then cooked foods.
Bitter foods, such as lemon, lime and apple cider vinegar, help to stimulation digestion and liver enzymes. Try half a fresh lemon squeezed in water before breakfast.
Week 8:
Vegetable juice is a brilliant healthy snack and a great way to get the 5 servings of vegetable need each day. Beetroot, celery, pineapple, ginger and carrot are my favourite.
Dandelion tea can be a replacement for coffee.
And remember, eating is meant to be a joy, if you can aim to be healthy 80% of the time you can more or less eat whatever you want for the remaining 20%.
