10 Ways to Improve Your Diet Now

Ready to chuck your stale, unhealthy diet, but don't know where to start? Try with these small changes.

  • Eat Your Breakfast:  Mom was right. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  . Breakfast will help your body and mind function better during the day and help boost your metabolism to burn more calories.
     
  • Have a Cup of Tea:  Scientists say that the extremely high content of flavonoids makes tea a really healthy choice whether its green tea, black or some shade in between. The plant-derived compounds are very powerful antioxidants, which help in fighting cell damage and may reduce the risk of heart disease.
     
  • Downsize Your Dinnerware: Start using your salad plates as your dinner plates, using a smaller plate helps you get used to eating smaller portions.
     
  • Go Crazy with Color:  Brightly colored foods contain intense concentrations of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants we need to stay healthy. Compare a fresh red apple to a bland potato chip – vibrant fresh foods taste better!
     
  • Stop Obsessing over Calories: Instead use the 25-25-50 rule, 25 % of the plate covered by lean protein, 25%covered by whole grain pastas, brown rice, or potatoes, and 50 % covered in vegetables.
     
  • Distinguish a Snack from a Treat: A snack fills the requirement of being both nourishing and filling - a treat is neither of those things. A good rule of thumb is to snack once or twice a day and keep treats for special occasions. View snacks as an integral part of a daily diet- and you may drop a few pounds without even trying.
     
  • Enjoy Social Sweets Only: One way to keep your “sweet tooth” in check is to make sure you only eat sweets socially- never alone. If you feel the need for something sweet, leave your home or office, grab a friend, and go to a coffee house or bakery and indulge in a little something. Most important, don’t bring those sweets back to your home or office.
     
  • Indulge in Fancy Fruit: Instead of cake, try making fruits more tempting i.e. bake an apple and drizzle it with honey or cinnamon – take a pear cut it up, add some nuts and throw it in the oven – you will satisfy your sweet tooth without eating junk
     
  • Crunch on Crudités: Keep veggies cut up and available in your refrigerator at eye level at all time – keep some low-fat ranch dressing or hummus available  and that “veggie tray” will be something you will gravitate towards when you go home.
     
  • Water, Water Everywhere:  Water helps with digestion, energy levels, weight loss, and can keep your skin in top shape. Kids and adults who are healthy should try drinking water with each mean and between meals.
     

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