How to start eating healthy

We are in the very first month of the new year. Eating healthy is a very common New Year’s resolution. But most of us will lose discipline in a few weeks. I had done this transition years ago, mostly out of necessity. Over the years I mastered some habits to consistently eat healthy.

Don’t worry. It’s not some controversial fad diet that frequently pops up on TikTok😁.

🧘🏾‍♀️Mindful eating

Most of us prefer to eat with a distraction. Sometimes it’s a movie, a favorite show, or a YouTube video running in the background.

We don’t pay attention to what we are eating or how fast we are eating. It takes a bit for our brain to realize that we are full. So eating without any distractions can prevent you from overeating.

I understand that it is very difficult because mealtime is the only free time for most of us and we have a tendency to fill up every free slot with something stimulating.

But try to mindfully eat your meals without screens for a few days and see if it works for you.

🍴Default recipes

Learn a few recipes that you love and are quick to make.

We have a limited amount of energy every single day. Each decision that we make drains our battery throughout the day.

Stop thinking about what to cook when you are tired and hungry. If that’s your approach to healthy eating, you are more likely to order fast food on your way back from work or eat sugary cereal for the fifth time in a week.

For breakfast, my go-to recipes are,

Ripe plantains (boiled or slightly pan-fried)
Peanut butter and banana smoothie
Oatmeal with seasonal fruits and seeds
Dosa wrap with peanut butter and plantains
Banana and egg pancakes

paired with

Eggs (Hard boiled, scrambled, or fried based on my mood)

Eggs have become a breakfast staple for me because the protein and fat help me stay full for longer.

I don’t think a lot about breakfast. I just make eggs and pair them with an available carb source.

When it comes to lunch, It’s rice (mostly brown, sometimes white or basmati) paired with a source of protein (chicken, fish, beef, or mutton) and a serving of vegetables.

I make sure to include probiotic food items like fermented gooseberries or yogurt as a side. Supporting your gut health is crucial.

For dinner, it is kanji (brown matta rice porridge) mostly paired with green gram stir fry or dosa with sambar or some kind of curry.

Snacks are mostly fresh fruits and nuts.

These are the default recipes I can go to without even thinking. They are quick, comforting and extremely filling.

I make sure to try more seasonal vegetables, fruits and different varieties of legumes to switch it up a little. Humans need novelty, so try different things. Have fun. Go to a nearby farmer’s market and get some seasonal produce.

⚡Track your energy

I am a morning person. I have always been a morning person.

Since I was in 10th standard, I used to wake up early to study. My Dad used to wake up with me and make me a strong sweet coffee and a sweet morning coffee became a habit.

The problem is, when you break your fast with so much sugar, your blood sugar goes up and after a while, it crashes fast making you very hungry.

I wouldn’t eat breakfast well because I had to leave for school so early. And my energy would crash after a while making me so hungry.

Since I realized the connection between energy levels and food I make sure to include more protein and healthy fats in my meals.

Drinking black coffee or green tea is better for me than sugary milk tea or coffee in the morning.

Another thing that can affect your energy levels is food intolerance or allergy.

Common allergens are,

Gluten
Dairy
Eggs
Nuts, etc.

I have gluten intolerance. But I realized it in my 20s. I always had gut problems, but never really connected it with food.

Figuring out my food intolerance and fixing my diet changed my life and health. I have a detailed post about my journey on my blog.

If you have unexplainable symptoms and fatigue, test for nutritional deficiencies, hormone imbalances and food intolerances.

🕖Have an early dinner

This is connected to the last point.

A black tea or green tea works for me because it doesn’t have any calories and my body stays in the fasting stage for longer.

People are going crazy with intermittent fasting these days. But don’t starve yourself.

Eat your dinner a bit early and have your breakfast at least 12 hours after your dinner. This has done wonders for me.

If you eat your dinner before 7 pm, you can eat your breakfast at 9 am. Give your body a break to heal and repair.

Having an early dinner can have positive effects on the quality of your sleep too.

Even though I have tried up to a 16-hour fasting window, it made my menstrual cycles irregular.

So all I do is eat my dinner as early as possible, avoid consuming refined sugar daily and eat breakfast based on my hunger cues.

🥱Tackle boredom and emotional eating

Sometimes you are not hungry, you are just bored.

I have done it many times especially when I am in a productivity rut. Cooking hyper-palatable dishes and eating became my comfort zone. Eventually, I realized it was a way for me to procrastinate.

If you are eating ultra-processed junk food to run away from negative emotions, you have to tackle the root cause with professional help.

We are what we eat. Food has a direct impact on our mental health and vice versa. Eat healthy filling meals to nourish your body and mind.

Start a project that you care about. Read more books. Upskill in your profession. Divert your energy into something that you care about.

🥗Learn basic nutrition

Understand what you eat daily. Some food items give us more energy whereas some food items just make us tired and groggy. Pay some attention to your body and how it reacts to what you eat.

A correct proportion of carbs, healthy fats, fiber and protein would keep your energy levels stable for a long time whereas a pure sugar cereal bowl will make you more “hangry” and irritated later.

Healthy fats are important for your body on a cellular level but refined oils that go into restaurant food and packaged food can damage your body on a cellular level.

Antioxidants and polyphenols from vegetables are necessary for our recovery from oxidative stress. Prebiotic and probiotic foods help your gut bacteria thrive and they help you thrive.

Understand the caloric and nutritional value of the food you eat every single day. For example, traditional Kerala food is very high-calorie because it’s been designed over centuries to fulfill the needs of highly active, outdoorsy people. If you eat the same food and sit in front of a computer the whole day, there is no way for your body to utilize the extra calories.

I still eat Kerala food every day. But I pay attention to the amount of ingredients that go into it like the oil, sugar, coconut milk, etc.

Portion control is also key.

I wouldn’t recommend strict calorie counting. It can affect your mental health and it is very daunting. But you can check and understand the nutritional value of food items that you eat regularly.

I used HealthifyMe for a short period once and it worked for me. If you live in India, with the free version you get the nutritional profile of almost all Indian dishes.

🛒Meal planning and grocery shopping

Plan your meals for the upcoming week before going grocery shopping. The degree of planning is totally up to you. You can plan and write out all the meals or you can have a rough idea in your mind.

We keep a shared Google shopping list for our essentials. Whenever something runs out, we update the list.

I don’t plan every single meal (I used to do that for a while). After doing it for a while, you will get an idea about how much groceries to buy so that there would be no waste.

Another tip is to don’t go shopping when you are hungry. Grab something to eat before going into a supermarket.

🔪Meal prepping

You can prepare all the meals you need beforehand. You can even measure it out and keep it in separate containers in the fridge. I don’t meal prep like that. I like to be a little dynamic with cooking because I enjoy cooking a lot.

Mostly I do things like,

Prepare a big batch of dosa batter for the week
Soak legumes like green gram and chickpeas
Grill some chicken for the week
Prepare some vegetables

Soaked chickpeas and dosa batter can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

Other than these all I do is cook bigger portions whenever I am cooking curries, stir-fries, etc.

Dosa batter is a game changer because whenever I get hungry, I can make something quickly instead of ordering something.

🍟Remove the visual cues

Don’t keep snacks at home if possible. Keep the snacks out of sight.

Keep a healthy alternative available. My favorites are,

Carrot sticks and cucumber slices with hummus
Apple slices with nut butter
Nuts

Also, you can nicely plate your food. Presentation is an important part of the experience.

Keep your water bottle where you can see it and stay hydrated throughout the day. Sometimes we can misunderstand thirst for hunger.

Take away

Don’t starve yourself. Fuel your body with real food and move your body. Be aware of the fund that goes into the marketing of ultra-processed food.

Don’t start eating healthy for superficial reasons. Do it so that you have more energy. Do it so that you can have a beautiful life with your loved ones.

Whenever you feel like giving up, remind yourself why you are doing this. Visualize your end goal.

Check out my YouTube channel to see more recipes and tips on lifestyle design or check out my blog post on 12 healthy food swaps that transformed my life.

Resources

These are some of the resources that helped me to keep my motivation while changing my diet and lifestyle.

Books

Podcasts

Channels

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Agnes Augustine