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Eating healthily is something that the vast majority of us struggle with throughout our lives. In a world where we can easily and cheaply pig out on burgers, fries and ice cream, it is very difficult to pry yourself away from these fatty foods and focus on eating healthier foods.
The importance of a healthy diet, however, is something that no one will deny. There is a rising rate of obesity in the Western World and Australia is the top of this shameful list as the worst of perpetrators. There is little doubt that many of us need to make a change, but what few of us expect is that healthy foods can actually be wonderful to eat.
In addition to this, they will generally give you more energy, improve your brainpower, and make you want to become more active. Here is a simple guide to becoming healthier.
How to Get Healthy
There is little doubt that the average health of both old and young people in Australia is suffering because of a fatty diet and a lack of exercise. Many of us blame our circumstances such as the amount that we have to work and the time that we have to spend with our children, but there really is no reason why we should not be able to find time to exercise.
If you have a long-term injury, then seek the help of an injury management advisor and find a way back into an exercise regime, no matter how light. If you have young children and an out of shape post-pregnancy body, get that materity tracksuit back on and hit the gym. Remember that the key to a healthy life is a healthy diet and a decent amount of exercise. Without exercise the following diet will still benefit you, but not to nearly the same extent
What to Eat
Eating according to a diet does not mean that you necessarily need to eat unappealing foods and miss out on the things that you love, it simply means that the base of your diet should be healthy and that ‘bad’ foods are not eaten in excess. Ideally you will eat five small meals each day instead of three large ones, because this will enable you to increase your rate of metabolism and it will prevent you from sitting around with a large amount of food in your stomach. Eating in this way is not essential but it is beneficial.
The crux of a healthy diet, however, is in fact as simple as three lists. When preparing a meal you should ensure that you have at least one item from every list within each meal. The lists are comprised of smart protein foods, smart carbohydrate foods, and smart fat foods. Your body needs to receive fats, carbs and proteins alike, it is just the isolation of fats that causes dietary problems for many Australians. Some selections from the lists are as follows:
Smart Proteins
Chicken
Beef
Eggs
Seeds
Yougart
Fish
Smart Carbohydrates
Brown Rice
Raw Muesli
Oats
Cous Cous
Wild Rice
Smart Fats
Avacados
Fish Oil
Nuts
Fish
Seeds
As these incomprehensive lists demonstrate, there remains a large array of foods with which to make up a healthy portion of each meal. Instead of eating less of an unhealthy food, eating a small portion of each of these groups in each meal of each day is a great way to keep your body healthy and happy whilst also enabling yourself to enjoy a wide array of wonderful foods. Learning to cook with these alternative foods will be a fun process which will open your eyes to a healthier diet and way of living.
