The decision to start eating healthier is often followed by the realization that life is constantly throwing challenges your way, and a nutrition guide can keep you on track. Whether you’re tempted to overindulge at a holiday gathering or considering picking up that bag of chips at the grocery store, you’ll quickly discover that sticking to your commitment requires constant decisions.
Fortunately, there is a way to avoid falling prey to temptation. Planning ahead is one of the most effective strategies for handling any nutritional obstacle that you face. As you work on developing healthier habits through nutrition coaching, you can use this guide to help you stay on track for long term success.
Get Ready for Grocery Shopping
A simple trip to the grocery store can turn into a landmine of temptation when you see all of your favorite foods just waiting to get tossed in your car. Since the food that you bring into your house influences what you eat and snack on each day, doing some pre-trip planning is a tip that healthy moms always follow. Most likely, you already create some form of a grocery list, but now you’ll want to take it one step further by following these steps.
- Create a menu for the week
- Make sure to include breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
- Write a list of all of the ingredients that you need
- Commit to sticking to the list
You’ll also find it easier to avoid breaking your commitment if you eat something before you head to the store. If you are out running multiple errands, then throw a healthy snack in your bag. Apples or some baby carrots keep well while you are out and are just enough to satisfy hunger pangs without breaking your healthy eating plan.
Following This Nutrition Guide Can Help You At Social Events
Food and socializing often go hand in hand, and it is hard to avoid eating too much when you might have people urging you to try their special dishes. One way to maintain control over what you eat is to ask the host what they’ll be serving when you RSVP.
Once you know what is on the menu, you can plan accordingly. If the food is already healthy, then you can treat the event as one of your meals. If the menu is heavy, then you may want to ask if you can bring a small side of vegetables so that you know you’ll have a healthy food option. This method also works great for pot lucks where there is always a plethora of calorie-laden casseroles and desserts.
Before the event, make sure to eat a light snack. You may also want to have a few excuses prepared for in case someone tries to urge you to eat more. Simply saying that you’re working on sticking to your plans for healthy eating is often enough to stop people from pressuring you to take another bite.
As a final note for preparing for a social event, make sure to bring a water bottle. This will help you to avoid empty calories from alcoholic beverages and soda, which tends to be served at most social events.
Prep for a Busy Week
One of the big challenges that you’ll learn how to handle in your nutrition coaching sessions is the issue of time. Trying to put together a dinner after you get home from work or taking the kids to soccer practice can get overwhelming, and this is a time when you might be tempted to throw on a frozen pizza or order out.
Meal prepping is a simple strategy that helps you make easy lunches and dinners when you are strapped for time. Start by planning what you want to eat for the week, and do your grocery shopping early in the weekend.
Once you get home, start prepping any staple food items that you can. For instance, you can make rice or couscous ahead of time to eat with your protein and veggies. You can also cut up fruit and vegetables for the week so that all you have to do is toss them into your recipes.
After you get it all prepped, put your meals into containers that you can grab and go as you head out the door. Being able to carry out a healthy meals stops you from feeling the need to hit the fast food restaurant when you start to get hungry.
Read Up On Restaurants
Despite what you might have heard, you can absolutely still enjoy going to a restaurant while still maintaining your resolve to eat better. With a little planning, you can make sure that you’ll have good options for making a healthy meal choice.
First, make sure to decide upon a restaurant before you head out. Ideally, you’ll be able to pick one that is known for having a selection of healthy foods. Once you’ve picked out the restaurant, look up the menu online. This makes it possible to walk in and order without giving in to tempting items on the menu.
As you sit down, you can also ask the server to remove any chips, bread and other appetizers that tend to be carb-heavy. For a beverage, stick with water or tea. You might also ask them to bring an extra plate if your dining companion is willing to split a dish.
If you can’t share your dish with your spouse or friend, then splitting your meal in half and putting part of it in a to-go box before you even start to eat is one of those weight loss tips that helps you pare down the calories without feeling deprived.
The universe might seem like it is out to destroy your plans to eat healthier and manage your weight, but you’ve got the strength to push right through those obstacles and hit your goals. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do this alone. Reach out to a nutrition coach today to get personalized strategies that help you make your goal of becoming healthier a reality.