8 Healthy Eating Lifestyle Habits That’ll Help You Feel Great

When it comes to cultivating a healthy eating lifestyle, most of us make the mistake of focusing solely on which types of foods we are eating. While it may help, it’s difficult to maintain it in the long term. If you would like to have a healthy eating lifestyle that lasts, it’s better to start with developing some healthy eating habits that don’t get you so specifically hyper-focused one strict way of eating. These habits can make it much easier for you to achieve your goal of having a healthy, balanced diet and lose some weight if you want to.

Today, we will review 8 healthy eating lifestyle habits that are easy to build in your daily routine and can help you feel great. Let’s check them out!

1. Eating only as much as the body needs

Eating in moderation can play a significant role in developing a healthy lifestyle. This is because when you eat only as much as your body needs, you can consume whatever you want (within reason of course!). – And believe me, this is important concerning your well-being as it can be mentally exhausting when you have to give up all your favorite treats.

I know for me, and probably you too, restricting what I eat always seems to backfire at some point.

If you want to form the habit of eating in moderation, meal prepping and/or mindful eating can be a real game-changer for you. Also, make sure to always have healthy foods at home and eliminate unhealthy foods in your fridge and pantry as best you can. This way, the temptation will be smaller!

Related read: The Ultimate List of Habits For a Better Life

2. Paying attention to portion sizes

The second healthy eating lifestyle habit that I would recommend to you is to pay attention to portion sizes since it’s a great way to practice eating in moderation. Unfortunately, many people eat large portions. So they end up consuming more calories than their body needs.

To avoid overeating, you can use smaller plates – this one is actually super effective for having fewer calories! – or splitting a dish with your family members when eating out. Another way that can help you with portion control is measuring portion sizes. Thus, you will be aware of your exact calorie and nutrient intake.

Additionally, try to eat in a setting where you are tuned into your senses (not while watching TV) so that you can pick up on your body’s own cues of fullness and stop eating at the right time!

3. Drinking water

I can’t say enough how important hydration is. Drinking an adequate amount of water throughout the day has many health benefits. Therefore, do your best to stay hydrated. Keeping a bottle of water on your desk at work and taking it with you wherever you go can make it easier for you to drink the recommended daily amount of water (about eight 8-ounces glasses).

Although it’s not only water that contributes to your daily water intake, it’s always better to opt for clean water instead of soda or sweetened drinks. This will help with cravings, hunger, and more. A win-win!

4. Avoiding skipping meals, including breakfast

While many people think that skipping your meals, particularly breakfast, can help you lose weight, it’s better if you avoid doing it. In fact, when you skip your meals, your metabolism slows down. This can even lead to gain weight in the long term. Besides, it lowers your blood sugar levels to a great extent as well!

For these reasons, eat a nutritious, healthy breakfast to start your metabolism and get enough energy to keep going. It can also help you prevent overeating later in the day as you will feel less hungry to keep grabbing snacks.

This doesn’t mean you can’t practice intermittent fasting and eat your breakfast at a later time in the morning or refrain from eating too much at night. Find what works best for your energy levels. The key is to avoid extreme hunger that’ll lead to overeating, while also giving your body time to digest at certain periods of the 24 hour period.

5. Eating mindfully

One of the best eating habits you can cultivate is mindful eating. To practice eating mindfully, do as many as you can from the following:

• Eat slowly – it’s crucial because it takes nearly 20 minutes for the brain to send the signals of being full.
• Pay attention to what you are actually eating (notice the smell, flavors, textures, etc.)- a life changer!
• Understand the difference between real hunger and other triggers for eating.
• Learn how to deal with feeling guilty about eating.
• Recognize how food affects your mood and figure (and vice versa)
• Be grateful for the food you are eating.

Related read: What Is Mindful Eating? And How Can It Benefit You?

6. Reading the labels to avoid unhealthy ingredients

Many foods that you would not even think about contain added sugar and numerous unhealthy ingredients. To spot these ingredients, you need to check the label of the products.

Producers use various terms to describe the ingredients. Thus, you may have some difficulties reading the labels. However, in general, it can help if you avoid buying those products that have far too many ingredients that you don’t know or can’t even pronounce.

If you can, try to choose organic foods when doing grocery shopping. Those products are generally healthier and contain more nutrients than their conventional counterparts.

7. Eating more fruits and vegetables

If we want to be completely honest with ourselves, let’s admit that most of us don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. According to a study conducted in 2017, only 1 out of 10 adults meet the recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable intake in the U.S. It’s truly shocking!

This is why one of the best healthy habits for nutrition is adding some vegetables and fruits to each dish. For example, green leafy vegetables are super easy to include in your diet! Since both fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibers, this healthy eating habit has numerous benefits regarding your health.

8. Stopping feeling guilty

Having a healthy diet doesn’t mean that you can’t allow yourself to have a dessert or a take out night with your friends from time to time. In reality, closing out all your favorite foods may not be so beneficial in the long run as you may think.

This is why you should not feel guilty the next time you are about to have a cheat day. If you punish yourself, you will just feel worse and probably, lose your motivation. Instead, enjoy the food and focus on your long-term goals. Eating a donut once in a while won’t make you gain weight. It will only do this if you reward yourself with donuts or other sweets and junk food regularly.

Related read: 8 Fitness Habits to Conquer This Year

The bottom line

Whether you’ve been struggling with your weight for years or are just want to start feeling more self-conscious about how much and what you eat, it can be overwhelming and difficult to change the habits that have formed over time. Hopefully, these healthy eating lifestyle habits will help get you on track so you can feel your absolute best very soon! Remember, even small changes can help a lot!

Trust me, I know how hard changing eating habits can be as a chronic sugar and junkaholic. But with the right mindset and plan in place- one that is sustainable. Anything is possible!

Which habit(s) will you incorporate into your daily routine?