Our diets play one of two key roles in the health of our bodies the other being activity and exercise. However, our ever increasingly busy lives can cause us to reduce the time we have for both of these components of good health. This can result in us grabbing any food when we can and resulting in us not exercising enough to maintain optimal health.
Common effects of a busy lifestyle are:
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Skipping meals
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Leaving long gaps between meals
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Consuming snacks/foods high in sugar and/or fat
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Buying pre-prepared meals & take-aways
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Eating on the run, and
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Grabbing foods from the fridge without thought
The result on the body is
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Lack of energy
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Increased need for sleep
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Weight gain
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Sweet cravings
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Lack of enthusiasm
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Mood swings, and
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Poor concentration
If you can relate to some of the above then you should be looking to modify your diet for the benefit of your health and sport. But don’t fear because following the ten tips laid out below and the other information in this article will help to rebalance your lifestyle so you can work, rest and play with increased vigour!
There are some easy steps to use to increase your lifestyle and health.
10 easy steps to a healthier diet are
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Eat for Health: Choose nutrient dense low fat foods, particularly those naturally low in fat such as most fruit and vegetables, cereals and breads. Cut back on foods containing added sugar, alcohol and caffeine.
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Don’t Diet: Asses your current food intake and create new eating habits.
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Eat more carbohydrate: Eat complex carbohydrate foods as first choice. Eat more bread, rice, cereals, potatoes, and pasta and include the wholegrain and wholemeal varieties if you wish. These are more filling and satisfying.
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Avoid High Fat Fillings & Toppings: Fat makes food more palatable and tasty, but consider close alternatives which do the same job e.g. use skimmed milk milk-shakes, sauces, milk puddings and custards; choose tomato-based sauces instead of cheesy ones on pasta; top jacket potatoes with baked beans and no added butter instead of tuna mayonnaise – the possibilities are endless.
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Eat Regularly: Avoid leaving longer than 5 hours between meals and snacks. Adopt a ‘grazing’ approach to eating and eat smaller, more frequent meals and snacks.
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After Your Work-out Eat within Two Hours: This is the best time to refuel your muscle glycogen. Ideal snacks could be a banana sandwich or a baguette with lean chicken and salad or just cereal and milk on toast.
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Always Eat Breakfast: Consider sleep as an overnight ‘fast’. A good breakfast helps aid mental concentration, balance and co-ordination. If you can’t face food, try a drink that contains a little carbohydrate e.g. fruit juice and water or a skimmed milk shake. Always keep breakfast items in the store.
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Eat Lots of Fruit and Vegetables: Particularly those that are yellow, orange, green and leafy. They are packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, low in fat and kilocalories and are tasty and versatile.
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Make Small, Gradual Changes: Set yourself just one or two goals each week and see how you get on. Only set more when you feel you have achieved e.g. it is a major dietary change to use skimmed milk when you are used to whole milk. Introduce the change gradually and make no other alterations until you are happy with this. Too many changes all at once increase the failure rate.
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Make Time to Eat: Plan, shop and cook accordingly. Avoid being caught out. When you feel hungry you are more likely to overeat and grab whatever is around. So it is essential to decide what you are going to eat and when you are going to it well in advance.
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