At Home, Develop These Healthy Eating Habits
Amid the busy work life in India’s startup capital, Bangalore, unhealthy eating habits caught up to Vanshaj. He didn’t take regular meals. He survived on junk food. Many times, he would come late from work and stuffed himself with instant noodles.
Even with so many unhealthy eating habits, this wasn’t the biggest problem for Vanshaj. The biggest problem for him was that he knew that he had developed these dangerous eating habits, was willing to change them, but couldn’t. He either couldn’t find the time in his busy work schedule or gradually lost the motivation to do it. Until lockdown came!
Lockdown became the golden time for Vanshaj when he turned around his lifestyle choices and ensured a healthy future for himself. He adopted healthy eating habits, a balanced sleep schedule, and a regular exercise routine. The inability to step outside had its challenges. However, Vanshaj was eating home-cooked, nutritious food that contributed to his physical and mental well-being.
We often find ourselves questioning our lifestyle choices and making resolutions, only to be broken by our rigid habits and routines. Since you are now stuck at your home at lockdown, this is the best time to commit to those resolutions. The first resolution on the list should be developing healthy eating habits.
We know that your physical health mainly depends on your eating habits. In addition, our mental health revolves around our diets too. Moreover, healthy eating habits also boost your immunity and help you fight off diseases and infections.
5 Healthy Eating Habits You Need to Develop Today
- Consume High-Fiber Carbs & Complex Carbs
Higher fiber carbohydrates found in wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes with their skins on, are excellent for you. This type of carbs helps you feel full for a little longer, thus preventing you from overeating. Similarly, complex carbohydrates found in peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables release energy relatively slower which keeps you energetic for a longer time.
- Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Eating an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables daily can be the difference between developing a deficiency and phenomenal health. It is advised that you consume at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. A portion of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit and vegetables is 80g whereas a portion of dried fruit is 30g.
You can have your share of fruits and vegetables fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juiced. Vanshaj likes to make a glass full of smoothies out of his favorite fruits and consume 2-3 portions of vegetables with oats in the early lunch. These 5 portions a day will provide a healthy amount of vitamins, minerals, and fiber to your body.
- Reduce Saturated Fat and Sugar
There is a daily requirement for your body to consume fat, but you need to be on the lookout for the type of fat you’re consuming. Consuming more saturated fat than required body raises your blood cholesterol and increases the chance of heart diseases. On average, men must consume no more than 30g of saturated fat and women must consume no more than 20g of saturated fat. Avoid junk food and unnecessary snacking to cut down on saturated fats.
Sugar is another component of your diet that must be in check at all times. Consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay. These foods are also high in energy resulting in weight gain if not met with proper exercise and control. Just make sure you don’t have a habit of consuming cakes, biscuits, sugary carbonated drinks, etc.
- Keep Salt in Control
Keeping your daily salt intake in control is also one of the healthy eating habits you must adopt. It raises your blood pressure and increases your chances of developing heart disease. Salt intake under 6g a day is healthy for adults.
Apart from home-cooked food, you should also look at the ingredients of pre-processed foods like breakfast cereals, soups, bread, and sauces. If the salt is higher than 1.5g per 100g, it means that the food item is high in salt.
- Don’t Skip Breakfast
Many people are under the misconception that missing breakfast will help them lose weight. Breakfast is the most important meal for the day, not just for the proverb but for your metabolism. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast that is high in fiber, low in fat, sugar, and salt.
Vanshaj now starts his day with wholegrain lower-sugar cereal with toned milk and fruit sliced over the top. Don’t shy away from designing such delicious as well as healthy breakfasts for yourself.
To sum up, the lifestyle choices you make today will reflect in your health tomorrow. Lockdown has presented itself with a golden opportunity for all of us to develop healthy eating habits. Start developing healthy eating habits like Vanshaj and ensure better health for yourself in the future.
