5 Tips for Healthier Eating

                 OK, OK.... like in all honesty I really don't even know why I'm writing a post like this. I mean this is not a post that I would usually write for multiple reasons : a) It's a list post. A LIST POST. Like a list. a list. list. How does Autumn write a list post? Probably not the best idea ever. b) It's about healthier eating. OK, let's just face the facts. I really don't do all that great at keeping a steady and maintained diet, and so for me doing a list post on eating healthy... well we'll just see where that goes.  and c) The title seems a little drab. Hmm...  Oh well. How many of you all have tried to eat healthier or go on a diet or one of those things?  Hmm? Yeah, a lot of us, huh? I actually tried several times to go on a no-sugar plan for a week or so, but somehow I can't seem to resist puppy-chow. (Is that what you guys call it? You know -  this stuff? ↓) Yeah well, here are five tips that I personally like on how to start eating healthier. And before I even start, let me just say that this whole post, well, you don't even have to take seriously. I just thought it would be a fun post to do so I decided to make it. I'm no health expert or anything. In fact, I bet you I could scarf down a whole bag of Doritos in seven minutes. Well, maybe not. But you get the point? Good? Good. ☺

source

OK. Little note of randomness here. If this doesn't describe me, then I don't know what does. (seriously, though...)

source

 Chocolate cereal balls.... yum.  But - reality check. That's not gonna benefit me the least little bit in the long run. Uh-uh. No way.   OK. But on the other hand, I'm not exactly the most professional chef in the whole world to make something like this.

 source

 So that ↑ would be good. Oh yeah it would be good. And it would be majorly healthy. All good. Except for one teeny problem. I'm not planning on making something like that anytime in the foreseeable future. No way. That is Pinterest worthy, not my-kitchen-worthy.

well, that's kinda the whole reason for this post.  So without further ado: 5 tips for healthy eating. 


1. Tell yourself that this will be a success. 


            Don't try to all of a sudden force upon your system a brand new diet.  Simplify.  Try to find fruits and veggies and sort them by color, freshness, and most important- variety.   If you're going to all of a sudden dump together oatmeal, peaches, and yogurt together in a very un-appetizing way, well, may as well prepare yourself for a not drool worthy meal.   Make it fun.  Set yourself up for a success.  Tell yourself over and over again that you can make this happen.  Love what you eat.  ♥

2. The key? Moderation 

      So, basically what they're saying here is to not ban junk food in a ten minute span of time.  Say I'm scrolling through Pinterest and see all these oh-so-amazing looking healthy dishes.  Well, maybe my first impulse would be to give up chocolate.  OK.  No chocolate for you, young lady, I tell myself.  So the next day I walk into my friend's house and she's splitting her relatively "healthy" chocolate with her siblings and, well, knowing my love of chocolate automatically gives me some.  What am I going to do?  Tell her, "Oh, real sorry, but I decided to give up chocolate."? Umm, no way in the whole world would I do that.  I'd probably pop that piece of chocolate into my mouth and be like, "Yumm! Say, where did you buy this stuff?" #typicalme That afternoon I'd probably be freaking out because I'd be feeling so guilty that I broke my resolution.

    So what I should've done would be to calmly look at those Pinterest dishes and say to myself to reduce my chocolate intake by at least 25%.  That I probably could've done my still eating that piece of chocolate but deciding to not eating the brownie that was in my lunch.  Get what I'm trying to say here? Good. Don't overeat. We all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to support and keep a healthy body.  Take a little of each and you should do just fine.  And just keep in mind to think smaller portions.

3.  How you eat vs. Just what you eat

      It's not about just keeping this awesome diet that's going to give you what you're looking for. It's also about what you think about your food. Yup.  Your attitude about what you eat. So don't look at your broccoli with such furious scorn, my friend, believe it or not, it's good for you :)  One tip here is to try to eat with people.  Try to socialize, 'cuz just pigging out in front of the TV or your laptop is probably not the best idea ever.  Second tip here - ask yourself am I really hungry? I think once I saw a hint on Pinterest that said : "To see if you're really hungry, ask yourself if you want an apple.  If the answer is 'yes', you're hungry.  If the answer is 'no', you're not hungry." Another idea is to see if you're actually thirsty or hungry.  There is a difference, ya know?  Try to enjoy your meals.  Eat slowly.  Did you know that it takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has enough food? So, eat slowly, people.  It actually helps. 

4. Colorful Fruits and Veggies

So first things first in this point.  Before we even get into how good colorful fruits and veggies are for your diet, think about how much more appetizing it makes your meal.  Like, imagine this, a drab meal that is so bland and has no colorfulness whatsoever, and the taste is bleh.  Well, cheer up thinking about a colorful array of yumminess and a taste that is absolutely superb!  And the better fact that it is all healthy for you :)  What a difference, right? Quite astounding, right? 

source

Anyways, so as I was saying, try to eat a rainbow of fruits and veggies in your daily meals.  The deeply colored ones contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  Which is, of course, really good for you.  You should try to get the vitamins you need from fruits and veggies, not pills. They come naturally in fruits and veggies, so that's probably the best place to eat them.  Natural is what everyone loves, not?  But back to the point, different colors will give you different proteins and stuff, so try to make it a goal to eat a variety.  Some good choices will include: kale, mustard greens, corn, carrots, sweet potato, onion, squash, oranges, mangoes, berries, and that's only just a few! 

5. Healthy Fats + Unhealthy Fats

So basically you need this stuff for a lot of things.  Namely to nourish your brain, heart and cells, and those need to be top-notch.  Your heart is one of your important organs.  Healthy fats also sustain your hair, nails, and skin.  :) So you should add to your diet the following: Monounsaturated fats, primarily.  Woahhhhhh.  Big word much? XD basically "monounsaturated" comes from stuff like plant oils (i.e. olive oil), avocados, nuts (i.e. hazelnut), and seeds (i.e. pumpkin). This is the key 'Success' fat in the Mediterranean diet, which is getting known for its health producing effects.   #random   And "polyunsaturated" means stuff like Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids (Please don't stop reading this post yet 'cuz of all the big words, it'll get better. promise :) which can be found in fatty fish (obviously)  such as salmon, sardines, and herring.  Other sources of this fat would be walnuts, flax seed oils, and unheated sunflower and corn. Saturated fats are in almost all foods in some quantity; some have more and some less. So if this kind of fat is added to diet in moderation and from healthy sources they are sure to compliment and add to your health and healthy lifestyle!! (oh yeah, saturated is stuff like butter (basically any dairy)and coconut)

OK, OK, so what we need to minus from our diets would be trans fats and fried foods (that, btw, are sometimes fried in rancid oil... yuk.. what a way to take off the appetite for tasty foods, huh!?.  ) Basically trans fats would be stuff like baked goods, fried items, vegetable shortenings, crackers, cookies, and candies. (*sniff* many of my favorite stuff).

Whelp, that wraps it up folks.  Whaddya think? Kind of impressed with myself right now for writing this post *dusts off shoulders* Well, thank you for reading this far (??) and tell me below if you like this post. Because that would be nice to know - ya know :)

 Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful day and if you're having a bad day - well - it'll get better, cuz if this is the worst day of your life, tomorrow will be better. (that's what you call memorization off of Pinterest, folks) And God will be with you :) 

WOW... random much? 

but we all know that's how it goes

Thanks for reading and God bless ♥ 

Autumn 

What's your favorite tip for eating healthy?