5 Easy Ways To Eat Right

By: maggie eliot

Break Studios Contributing Writer

If you are having trouble fitting a balanced diet into your lifestyle, learn about 5 easy ways to eat right. The most important thing about eating right is to make changes that you can live with over the long-term. Drastic changes to your eating habits will likely set you up for failure, so check out five easy ways to eat right:

  1. Have healthy snacks available. One easy way to eat right is to always have fruits and vegetables within reach. The USDA recommends four to six servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Make fruits and veggies as easy to grab as a handful of chips. Try slicing carrots and apples and putting them in the fridge, then they will be ready for you to grab when hunger strikes.
  2. Eat right by eating an appetizer. Before you dig in to a huge plate of pasta, fill yourself up with a healthy salad and/or some vegetable soup. By eating a healthy appetizer, you will be filling up on good foods before you get to your dinner. You won't feel deprived, but you will hopefully eat less of your dinner. This is especially helpful if you are dinning out.
  3. If you don't buy it, you can't eat it. Another easy way to start eating right is to eliminate unhealthy foods from your home. This doesn't mean that you can't ever treat yourself, but when you do, you should go out and make it a special occasion. This will eliminate mindless snacking and it will force you to eat the "good" food you have available.
  4. Start exercising. An indirect way to start eating right is to start exercising. When you begin an exercise program, your body will start changing its cravings to desire foods that are conducive with exercise. You will be less tempted to make a fast-food run for lunch and more likely to reach for a whole grain sandwich.
  5. Make a deal with yourself. Another way to eat right to to make to 90-10 rule everyday. Tell yourself that if you stay on track eating right for 90 percent of the day, you can have ice cream (or your food of choice later). Just remember to use moderation. This doesn't mean that you can eat an entire pizza every night, but it does mean that if you eat a big salad for dinner, you can allow yourself to have one slice of pizza, for example.
Posted on: Oct. 09, 2010