Healthy Eating - What Works For You?
Posted by kathryn in Easier eating
Despite what the diet books say, there are lots of ways to eat healthily. You can eat well while being an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan. You can eat well while having a gluten-full diet; enjoying a glass of wine; eating plenty of carbs; having a regular piece of chocolate; including some sugar: shunning superfoods; avoiding carrots. All are possible.
Instead of being only one healthy eating path, there are many. Which means, for each of us, the best way to a healthy diet is finding out what suits you. What combination of foods, way of eating and strategies are best for you.
No matter what anyone else recommends and no matter how good the food, if an eating or lifestyle change doesn’t suit you it won’t work. For you. Which is okay, because, as I said, there are lots of ways to be healthy.
For a health change to stick, I mean really stick, it has to be right for you. It has to suit your tastes, budget, lifestyle, ethics, medical history, temperament. So rather than continually reading and listening to friends’ advice, why not start working out your way of eating healthily.
This takes time, it also takes some trial and error. However by knowing your own dietary idiosyncrasies you can work towards eating in the best way for you. Rather than following some general advice, aimed at the broad community this is about finding the strategies which help your health and make you feel better.
For me, over the last few years, through trial and error, trying new things out and cherry picking advice, I’ve worked out a number of healthy eating habits which work for me. Some fit in with standard nutritional advice, some don’t, however, more importantly, they work for me.
I’ve realised my hungry time is in the morning and if I don’t eat the right breakfast I’ll be hungry two hours later. That while I like a glass of wine I’m not a person who can have a glass every night. I rarely actually want chocolate, so when I do feel like it I have it. I’ve gradually re-trained my tastebuds to eat less salt and I’ve stopped trying to like kiwi fruit. I know I feel better when I have at least five serves of vegetables every day. I’ve worked out that on clinic days I’m better to have small amounts of food regularly. I thoroughly enjoy a cup of coffee each day. Plus I’ve realised that to maintain good energy I need a full one hour break at lunch time and, in the middle of the afternoon when I think I want something sweet, I’m actually better to go for a short walk.
It’s time to stop bending and stretching your life around other peoples’ health strategies. To stop battling, take responsibility and instead work out your version of healthy eating.
What healthy eating strategies work for you?
21 August, 2012
Comments
I find your note about needing your lunch break interesting. I’ve recently started taking my lunch breaks seriously again on advice from a health professional, and now I really, really, notice if I skip a day. I think it’s a part of good health that is often forgotten about, and thank you for mentioning it!
I’ve noticed I feel much better when I regularly eat fish, and when I make an effort to eat multiple serves of green vegetables everyday. I am also drawn to almonds and other nuts. I used to be reluctant to put in the effort to keep up the constant supply of green veg (due to having to go shopping more than once a week to do so), but I’ve realised the benefits for me far outweigh the inconvenience so I have gotten into the habit of doing so! Green vegies make me very happy!
and i guess the other thing is to aim for “excellent” each day, but not completely beat yourself up if you only get to, say, “good” on some. and not fall for every crazy new and groovy diet that comes your way.
taking responsibility. i love that.
I find that as long as I have fresh fruit around the house, I eat plenty of it. Not so for veggies – I have to consciously plan meals including them. To drink enough water, I use a 2-liter bottle instead of a smaller water bottle or cup, and try to drink that much every day. I don’t worry too much about other aspects of healthy eating, since for me enough fruit + veggies + water = feeling good. (We do generally eat pretty healthy stuff though.)
Excellent advice. One practice that works for me is keeping my home stocked with healthy snacks that I love and only buying single servings of the not-so-healthy snacks I sometimes crave. This way I don’t have the questionable stuff calling my name, but the apples and carrots and cucumbers and such are in clear view.
Redambition, there seems to be such a focus on working hard and “working through”, that lunch breaks have become a luxury. Which I think is rubbish. I actually think a break during the day is a necessity, for both your work efficiency and also your health.
When I’m working from home and I can, I actually try to take a longer break. I find I work much more effectively if I start the day early, take a longer break in the middle of the day and then work through until early evening.
Anna, it’s good to know that green vegies make you happy. Same here.
Wonderful post, Kathryn. I love its wisdom & quotable maxims. Nutrition knowledge helps — I say this as a dietitian — but these really are the three most important practices that help me eat healthily today: gardening, cooking, and sharing food ideas and information with others.
This is a great post, and interesting comment stream. Your advice on planning healthy snacks rings very true for me, but being organised enough to pack them every day is hard! This afternoon would have been more productive with a banana I’m sure :/
Jennie, I like your equation that fruit + veggies + water = feeling good. And I completely agree with you. Eating plenty of those foods also means you’re eating less of other, not so health-full foods.
Denise, I absolutely agree with you regarding buying small serves of the less healthy foods. I aim to buy small quantities and single serves as well, but make sure I always get the best quality I can find / afford. A single serve of something utterly delicious is in my mind much better than a larger serve of something second-rate.
I’ve had a lot of trial and error over the last couple of years. I take all “diet” advise with a grain of salt but I will try, try, try and keep trying until I find what makes me feel good. Feeling good for me means, not too hungry between meals, and feeling fueled for workouts, runs, bike rides, etc. In February I started with a personal trainer and he suggested that I try Paleo to lose weight. I told him 1) I wasn’t interested in losing weight and 2) I didn’t want to give up bread. He asked me to just TRY so I did. You know what? After I got used to it, I liked it! And after 2.5 years of not losing any weight at all (and trying! but for a half year was in “acceptance” mode) I have lost weight. I don’t miss bread at all and I’ve found plenty of alternatives to my previous pasta-eating life. I have healthy snacks (mostly just fruit or veg), I feel good, energized, rested (I’m working on the sleep thing too). I agree that there is no real answer to a “perfect diet” – everyone is different and you have to just find what is right for you. And yes, wine is important and chocolate may or may not be necessary. Life is short, why not enjoy it too?
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