Starting a healthy eating plan is easy enough but sticking to one is another story altogether! Following a healthy diet requires being disciplined, planning ahead and having the right reasons for doing it in the first place. What will help you stick to the plan?
If you’re working with a dietician you’ll be given some tips to keep you on the straight and narrow. These experts may recommend healthy prepared meal delivery if you’re too busy to do your own grocery shopping and food preparation. Or, they can help you come up with a goal to inspire you to stay committed to your new diet. Keep reading and find out how you can stay on track while eating healthily—with or without professional help.
5 Top Tips for Sticking to a Healthy Eating Plan
1. Ordering Healthy Prepared Meals for Delivery
This tip works well for people who work long hours, run a busy household or don’t enjoy making their own healthy meals. Over the years, food delivery has seen a transformation from the traditional junk food takeaway to prepared meals that are nutritious and healthy.
Ordering healthy prepared meals for delivery to your home or office helps you stick to your diet with less effort. You can know you’re eating nutritious ingredients, without even shopping!
Innovative caterers are coming up with new menus all the time, giving you variety so you can enjoy your healthy diet without getting bored of it. This is a convenient and time-saving solution to sticking to your healthy eating plan.
2. Choose Whole Foods
If you are doing your own grocery shopping and preparation of healthy meals, stick to whole foods. These items are often found on the outside aisles of the supermarket and include:
- Vegetables and fruit
- Legumes and whole grains
- Dairy and eggs
- Fresh animal products
- Nuts and seeds
Avoid processed foods that are normally found in the deli section or inner aisles of the store. This includes keeping shakes and supplements off your shopping list. Whole foods are nutritious and full of vitamins, while high in fibre. They have the right nutrients and minerals for keeping your body healthy and balanced.
3. Stick to Small Serving Sizes
Another benefit of ordering in healthy prepared meals is that they’re made in small batches, reducing the risk of overeating! If you’re preparing your own meals, get the quantities right so you can’t pile huge plates of food. It also helps to make meals with your favourite healthy foods that tantalise your taste buds but leave you feeling full and satisfied.
At the same time, don’t starve yourself because you’re on a diet. Your dietician or nutritionist will help you figure out how much you should eat at each meal. Stick to those recommendations so you don’t deprive your body of the right balance of nutrients.
4. Always Have Healthy Snacks Available
One of the pitfalls is giving in to unhealthy snacks because you’ve got hunger pangs. Keeping healthy snacks with you all the time prevents you from ordering unhealthy takeout or buying a chocolate every time you pass the store.
Make sure you include the following snacks on your shopping list the next time you hit the supermarket:
- Homemade popcorn
- Organic yoghurt
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Hummus
- Roasted chickpeas
- Mixed raw nuts
Some of them, like nuts, are easy to carry with you wherever you go.
Wholesome snacks should be high in protein and fibre to keep you sustained and feeling full throughout the day. They shouldn’t include artificial ingredients or be processed in any way.
5. Monitor Your Progress and Celebrate Small Wins
Monitoring your diet progress is key to knowing how successful you’re being, while identifying what isn’t working for you. Your eating plan can be tracked in the following ways:
- Keeping a healthy eating plan journal
- Using your mobile to capture what foods you’re eating every day
- Installing an app that tracks your calories, activity patterns and weight
It’s important to celebrate small wins such as dropping a size in clothing or kilograms on the scale. Alternatively, if you don’t want to rely heavily on the numbers, check in with your body and ask yourself how you are feeling. Noticing positive changes in your physical and mental health are good signs that you’re on the right track. Make sure you celebrate every small win along the way to stay motivated!
Final Thoughts
Sticking to a healthy eating plan can be intimidating. But, it needn’t be if you follow the top tips shared in this article. Will you use vegan meal delivery services or prepare your own food? There are many ways to maintain progress when following a diet.
Staying healthy is vital for overall wellbeing and this should be your end goal when following an eating plan. Have the right intention and plan properly and you won’t have a problem maintaining lifelong healthy eating habits.
