Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Making healthy food choices
• Part 2 of 3: Eating the right amount
• Part 3 of 3: Getting healthy ideas about food
• Tips
• Warnings

You probably always hear people talking about good and healthy food, but how exactly do you do that? If you want to get healthier and feel strong instead of sluggish, follow the advice below to start eating healthy.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Making healthy food choices

1. Provide a balanced diet. Make sure you have a healthy balance of carbohydrates with a high nutritional value, such as fruits, vegetables and tubers such as potatoes. This way your body will certainly get the right balance of important vitamins and minerals it needs to stay strong and healthy. Recommended amounts vary by diet, and your ideal balance may differ slightly from someone else's. You can choose one of the common options below:
   • Have a diet that consists of 30% vegetables (dark-colored vegetables such as spinach are better), 20% fruit (eat the fruit with the most nutritional value, such as pomegranates), 20% carbohydrates (starches such as wheat, rice and corn), 20% from protein (found in meat, beans and legumes) and 10% from dairy products.
   • Have a diet that consists of 80% carbohydrates (such as fruits and vegetables, and starches such as wheat, rice and corn), 10% proteins (found in meat, beans and legumes) and 10% fats.
2. Don't skip meals. Always eat breakfast, because this gets your metabolism going early in the morning (this slows down at night because you haven't eaten anything for a while). Also, eat at regular intervals so your body gets the fuel it needs to handle the day.
3. Don't drink chemical drinks that look like food. It is a good idea to drink water, juices, smoothies, tea and similar drinks. However, you should definitely avoid soft drinks, cola and drinks that look like they were made in a laboratory.
4. Eat less unhealthy fats and empty calories. In general, you should reduce the amount of unhealthy saturated and trans fats in your diet. These can be found in foods such as chips, margarine, oils and frozen foods, as well as in many processed foods. Coconut oil is relatively the healthiest type of oil, but it is also not good to eat.
5. Eat more foods with a high nutritional value. Focus on eating foods that contain a lot of important nutrients for your body. These are foods rich in vitamins and minerals. You can try citrus fruits, dark-colored vegetables like kale and spinach, grains like brown rice and quinoa, and lean proteins like lentils and chickpeas.

Part 2 of 3: Eating the right amount

1. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Many people seem to think that you only get hungry at 9:00 am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm. While this may be a good eating schedule, remember that you don't have to eat at mealtime if you're not hungry yet. If you feel hungry between meals, feel free to get something to eat. It's not okay to starve yourself between meals. Because if you let yourself get too hungry, you'll just cook a lot quickly and eat unhealthy foods.
2. Eat properly sized portions. Keep in mind that your stomach is about the size of your fist. Don't expect to be able to cram in ten times the amount of food without negative consequences. However, if you eat a lot of fruit, you have to eat a lot. You will have a lot of energy and be happy all day long.
   • Don't worry about the number of calories you eat. After all, a cow can graze all day and still not become overweight. However, if you eat a lot of dairy and meat, you will inevitably starve or gain weight. So eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
3. Drink a lot of water every day. This is very important. You may think that you are hungry when you are really just very thirsty. Drinking a lot is also good for your liver and kidneys. Add a slice of lemon, lime or orange to your water to give it a nice taste. You can also add cucumber slices to make it taste even fresher.
   • The Nutrition Center advises adults to drink 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day. However, some people need more and others less. Unless your diet is crackers, you will get a lot of that moisture from the foods you eat. Drinking a lot of water at once is also not very effective for your body.

Part 3 of 3: Getting healthy ideas about food

1. Don't be persuaded to embark on a trendy diet. Sufficient protein, various fats (including omega 3 fatty acids, which are mainly found in fish oil and seeds) and carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables are important for the body to function properly. So do not be persuaded to start a trendy diet where you eat almost no carbohydrates or fat, for example.
2. Sweets the smart way. You can treat yourself to good food without eating pastries or cookies. There are a ton of healthy alternatives that are just as good. For example, try Tofutti ice cream without milk as an alternative to ice cream. Strawberries are a great alternative to sweets. A peanut butter and banana sandwich is a good substitute for a s'more.
3. Limit the amount of sweets you eat. You know that at some point you will start eating sweets: your neighbour's birthday cake, the Christmas dessert at your grandmother's house, the chocolate your partner gave you, or the cookies your son or daughter baked for you. Of course everyone wants to indulge in sweets from time to time. The important thing is to allow yourself to eat sweets only at these special times. It is wrong to eat sweets regularly so that you have already had too many sweets at these special moments.
4. Know that you have a problem if you fantasize about food. If you have a good diet with enough calories and carbohydrates, you will feel full and happy. Fantasizing about food is a clear indication that you are doing something wrong.
5. Don't eat a huge meal when you eat out. It is not strange to want to eat a delicious meal in a restaurant, especially if you are not very good at cooking yourself. However, understand that restaurant meals are often way too big. You shouldn't be eating that much food at once. Instead, eat only half of the food and save the rest for lunch the day after. You can also order an appetizer instead of a full meal if you know that you will get a smaller portion.

Tips

• Noises in your stomach do not always mean that you are hungry, but can also be heard as a result of your digestion, where your stomach is gargling and making other noises. The grunting noise your stomach makes when you are hungry is louder and less likely to repeat. You will only hear a grunting sound every few seconds or minutes. You usually have this feeling when you skip breakfast or exercise.
• Remember there is a difference between being hungry and being hungry. Sometimes you just want the taste of something when you are not really hungry. You are hungry when your stomach growls, and you don't feel any pangs of hunger in your stomach.
• Fruits, vegetables and nuts are rich in nutrients and are delicious and healthy to eat. It is best to eat a large amount of it every day to suppress your hunger.
• One trick to get rid of or postpone cravings for certain foods (such as junk food) just before a meal is to brush your tongue with toothpaste (brushing your teeth too often can be bad for your gums). As a result, you automatically do not feel like eating anything for a short time because few flavors match those of toothpaste. With this simple trick you can suppress your cravings for junk food or at least delay it long enough so that you can cook or order a healthy meal. Another advantage is that it also gives you a fresh breath. You can also eat a healthy snack in the meantime, such as two or three bananas.
• Don't compare yourself to models and actors you see on TV. The standards they are trying to meet are unrealistic. Many celebrities eat unhealthily, diet, or use drugs.
• The first sign that you have eaten enough is when you get thirsty.
• Keep holding on. This is not something you will only do for a short time. It is a lifestyle that you have to adapt to until it becomes second nature.
• To help you eat slowly, make it a habit to put down your cutlery every time you take a bite. Do not pick up your cutlery until you have chewed and swallowed the food.
• Do research on the internet, at your local library, or talk to your doctor to learn more about healthy and good eating.
• Remember, the longer you wait for a fruit to ripen, the healthier and tastier it will be. Fruit is never ripe in the store and pre-cut fruit will never ripen. A speckled banana is a good banana.

Warnings

• Read on the label of flavored water what it contains, because sometimes these drinks contain a lot of calories. Some are even higher in calories than soda.
• Remember that your lifestyle, including eating and exercising, should take care of your body in the first place, not harm it.
• Don't just focus on food. That means you shouldn't obsess over what you eat and how you eat. This behavior puts you at risk of developing an eating disorder.
• Don't talk with your mouth full. No one appears decent with half-chewed food in their mouth.