5 Simple Nutrition Tips

#rdtobe #food

1. Drink more water. Hydration is so important because the body and the brain in particular is made up of mostly water. Also, if you are drinking sugar sweetened beverages such as juice, soda, or tea, consider replacing one of those drinks daily with water. This will help decrease the intake of calories as fluids in soda or juice, which some consider less satisfying than calories in food form.

2. Choose the lean option. When at the grocery store, look at the different packaged meats. Some will say “lean” to indicate that that meat option contains fewer fats. If you do not already eat lean meats, perhaps a weekly challenge could be to incorporate one or two meats that are specifically lean into the diet.

3. Lean towards plant-based meals. Maybe you eat meat 2-3+ times daily or 3-4x weekly. As a challenge, try replacing one of those meals containing meat with a vegetarian dish. This will increase fiber and vitamin intake due to the vegetable intake, and reduce saturated fat intake from meat sources.

4. Listen to hunger cues. Your body has a system in place to send cues to the brain when the stomach is full. Sometimes it is hard to hear these cues after years of ignoring them, suppressing them, or acting against hunger cues. If this is the case, gently listen and pay attention to when you feel full, over-full, or hungry. This will help you to learn to eat an amount appropriate to your body.

5. Eat slowly. Eating slowly gives the food time to settle in the stomach. This gives the body the chance to send those signals to the brain that fullness has been achieved, and it is time to stop eating. This helps to prevent eating past the point of fullness and allows one to have the time to act on hunger cues.