Real healthy eating isn’t complicated

Real healthy eating isn’t complicated

Excuse for not eating healthy #3: It’s too confusing/too hard

Healthy eating isn’t complicated or confusing, and I’m going to show you how to keep it simple.

This is post number three in my series dispelling the myths around the most common excuses people use for not following a healthy lifestyle.

I’m expanding on my Slideshare presentation that explains how you can overcome these perceived obstacles. Check it out here: CUPCAKES VS. RICE CAKES.

Read the other posts in the series here:

EXCUSE #1: I’M TOO BUSY, I DON’T HAVE TIME

EXCUSE #2: I CAN’T AFFORD LOTS OF EXPENSIVE SUPERFOODS

EXCUSE #4: HEALTHY FOOD IS BLAND & BORING

If by the end of this series, you feel more confident that it is possible for you to make some healthy changes, then I’ll be very happy as it means I’ve done my job!

What does healthy eating really mean?

Let’s start with my description of healthy eating: it?s eating a variety of real, whole foods every day and minimal amounts of processed, packaged and junk food.

It’s preparing and cooking most of your own meals using fresh ingredients and having an occasional treat or take away.

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about slaving in the kitchen for hours at a time, creating complex gourmet dishes! Keep it simple and add flavour with herbs, spices and healthy dressings & sauces.

It’s pretty straight forward really. Of course it takes time to prepare and cook your meals. Like everything, though, the more you do it, the faster and easier it gets!

I promised to keep this un-complicated, so here are two easy ways to get started:

If you’re not much of a cook, you can ease yourself into it by using a meal prep or delivery service.

There are tons of them around these days; just make sure you choose one that’s local to you and that they use fresh ingredients.

Why is that important? The frozen meals supplied by a lot of the big companies contain unnecessary additives, preservatives, and even high amounts of salt and sugar.

Another way to get started that I like to recommend to my members and clients is to simply add more veggies to your meals.

It’s really easy to do and you’ll find yourself eating less of the not so good stuff when there’s less room for it on your plate.

Why should you be doing meal planning and prep?

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote: “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Meal planning is simply deciding ahead of time what you’ll be eating.

The best thing you can do is get into the habit of doing some meal planing & prep. Being organised will help you stick to your goals. And again, it doesn’t need to be complicated.

Spend a little bit of time once or twice a week planning your meals for the days ahead. Then write a list and go shopping to buy what you need.

When you get home, chop up your fruit and veggies, and portion them into containers. Pre-cook some protein like chicken breasts & burgers. Portion them into containers as well for the fridge and/or freezer.

Just doing this will make you a lot more organised, and it’ll make meal times a lot less stressful.

Bonus points:

if you’ve got time, cook a meal or two to go in the freezer for later in the week.

Meal prep is one of those “you’ll be glad you did it afterwards” kind of exercises. There’s a much better chance you’ll have a healthy dinner when you’ve removed the excuses and made it easy.

Another quick tip:

Whenever you cook a meal, double the recipe so there’ll be leftovers you can re-heat for lunches or quick dinners on those extra busy days.

Of course there will be times when you just don’t feel like cooking, but you still want to eat a healthy meal. Use your local delivery/pick up service that I mentioned above, instead of traditional take-aways.

What about snacks?

Should you or shouldn’t you be eating snacks?
Is there really such a thing as a healthy snack?

I believe snacks can be an important part of a healthy diet. Everyone’s different though, so you need to find what works best for you.

Healthy snacks can be organised when you’re doing your meal prep, so you’ll have them on hand in the fridge or freezer when you need them, instead of reaching for something less desireable.

I’ve got plenty of easy recipes on my blog. Have a look here:

HEALTHY BAKING

ENERGY BARS

BLISS BALLS

Make sure you’ve always got fresh fruit on hand too, and you’ll be more likely to choose a healthier option.

So as you can see, healthy eating isn’t really complicated or too hard. It just takes a little bit of planning and prep.

As it becomes a habit, it gets faster and easier the more you do it.

Oh, and the bottom line is: you have to want to make the effort!

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