The majority of us eat the same way for our whole lives. We stick to a similar food comfort zone as it is easy and familiar to us. While this may work for most of us but there are times when the desire to get healthier requires a massive dietary overhaul that may seem overwhelming to some. Before you take the big jump, make sure you have a healthy baseline diet and then start with making minor nutritional tweaks. With healthy payoffs, minor changes in our diets can lower the chances of conditions like diabetes, heart diseases, muscle aches, and pains.Also Read – Weight Loss Tips: Foods to Limit And Avoid in Your Fitness Journey
Here are a few diet tweaks that you can consider making in your day-to-day life: Also Read – Research Reveals How Greater Body Fat is a Risk Factor For Reduced Thinking Memory Ability
Take the first step small step to make a big difference in your diet by limiting your salt intake. While a small amount of salt in our diet is not a problem, it is important to be mindful of how much we are consuming. Do not eat processed foods, as even one small bite can contain a lot of refined salt and sodium which is directly linked to high blood pressure. When it rises, it affects the heart, kidney, brain, and eyes. The preference should always be home-cooked food in which you can exactly control how much sodium goes into each bite. Use a variety of organic herbs and spices with lemon, vinegar, and black pepper to make your salt-free seasonings. Last but not least advice is to always read the food label to check sodium quantity before you make a purchase. Also Read – World Obesity Day: 6 Best Ways to Avoid Obesity While Working From Home
- Increase your fibre intake
Switch to a plant-based diet to increase your fibre intake. Fibre helps in promoting a healthy weight, lowers cholesterol, prevents constipation, and maintains blood sugar within normal levels. Though the recommended 25-30 grams of fiber for adults seems daunting, it only takes a few simple substitutions in your diet. Replace sugary and refined cereal in the breakfast with a bowl of nuts and berries. For lunch, make a sandwich using a whole-grain tortilla and add lettuce, tomato, and other vegetables to it along with some fruit for additional fibre benefits. Make your evening snack and dinner fibre-full too. However, it is important that while you increase fibre in your diet, you must do it gradually and consume enough water to avoid any gastrointestinal discomfort.
- Add snacks and tune in to hunger cues
Adding snacks into a healthy eating plan provides an important energy boost to keep you going between meals. It should be a combination of colorful fruits or vegetables with whole grains and a protein source. While whole grains give you immediate energy, protein helps you feel full for longer. The water and fibre in fruits and vegetables provide a variety of vitamins and minerals that increase your overall well-being. Recognizing when you are hungry and when not goes a long way towards improving overall health. While babies and small children do a good job eating when they’re hungry and stopping when they’re full, grown-ups tend to eat more or skip for many external reasons.
In conclusion, big dietary changes at once are hard but small changes at their own pace will make a big difference. Do remember that the fundamental of tweaking a diet requires a healthy baseline at its core. Consult a dietician who can understand your needs and accordingly suggest changes in your diet to make you reach your end goal.
(With inputs by Dr. Siddhant Bhargava, Fitness and Nutritional Scientist, Co-Founder – Food Darzee)