Making the transition to healthy eating is not always easy at first, when you are assimilating and incorporating new habits into your life. Because it is not a momentary diet or a short-term goal: Eating a healthy diet is a lifelong commitment that has direct effects on physical and mental health. That’s why it is so important to do it well, little by little and safely. We must reprogram our brain, our habits and our palate. Next, we give you the 10 keys to transition to a healthy diet. We guarantee that eating better will change your life.
1. Find your reason
Answer the following question: “Why do I want to change my diet? What are the reasons why I want to change the current way of eating?”. To be healthier, feel better, prevent diseases, lose weight, for my commitment to the environment or animals… Whatever your goals, get to know them. It is really important that you find enough reasons for yourself, because they will be key to keeping motivation alive over time.
2. Find out and choose a good eating plan
Once you are clear about the reasons, it is important to have a good knowledge to know where to start and how to carry it out. To achieve this, it is important to rely on reliable sources with scientific criteria, from the hand of nutrition professionals. If you can’t put yourself in the hands of a professional dietetic and nutritionist, try looking in books and websites written by experts.
3. Understand that it is a process
Some changes can be done quickly because they have no greater implication than deciding to do so. But in order to create eating habits and be successful, it is very important to have realistic expectations, to understand that it is a process that will be built step by step, with a lot of patience and willpower.
4. Think of changing, not banning
In a transition to healthy eating, it is not about banning. Many people do that and for this reason they find it so difficult to implement these changes, they get tired and give up. The right approach would be to substitute unhealthy foods for food that is healthy. This process must be natural. It’s about trying new ways of cooking and re-educating your palate. An example would be, changing the breakfast pastries for homemade oatmeal pancakes with dark chocolate.
5. A kitchen full of health
Following the previous point, it is time to choose healthy foods. Little by little, get rid of all that food that does not nourish you, or contribute anything to your body. Change precooked and processed foods for fresh foods of different colors and textures. Fill your kitchen with vegetables, greens, mushrooms, fruits, legumes, cereals, nuts, seeds, quality animal protein, aromatic herbs and spices. Everything in season, fresh and, if it is possible, organic.
6. Cook, taste and experiment
The key to eating healthy is to cook your dishes yourself and thus avoid pre-cooked food. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen, you can start with simple and tasty things to get used to it. You can also do batch cooking which consists of cooking once for the whole week. In this case, put on some music or choose your favorite podcasts to make the experience in the kitchen more enjoyable, if it is difficult for you to spend a few hours cooking. Go ahead and try new dishes, cook food in different ways and fall in love with healthy food.
7. Seek support in your close circle
Algunas personas podrán hacer el cambio de forma independiente, sin necesitar a nadie a su lado que le acompañe. But doing this process with family or friends can be a vital boost and may even join you in your goal of changing your eating habits. Exchanging opinions, recipes and sensations, you will have a better time. You can weave your network with members that you have nearby or online.
8. Keep calm and be patient
The mind can betray you and many times it can become your worst enemy. If one day you have not done as well as you imagined, do not talk bad to yourself, do not blame yourself or punish yourself. You must be patient with yourself, because changing habits are a constant process and there will be difficult days. Your inner voice should not send negative messages, because you will end up hurting yourself, you will become frustrated and you will abandon your goal. Don’t be so rigid with yourself and speak to yourself with respect and affection, as you would do to a friend.
9. Planning
Planning in advance is a primary point in this process. To advance in this food transition, shopping and meal planning is the secret to success. In this way we will avoid those moments when we are hungry and we do not have anything healthy to eat, and we will go to buy a dish or snack that is not favorable for your objective. Planning meals on a weekly basis gives you the time to set up nutrient-packed dishes.
10. Listen to your body and enjoy
Connect with your body and observe the changes that happen with your transition to a healthy diet. Identify how food feels to you, analyze if when you eat you are hungry or you do it to alleviate an emotional state. Also see if you go to the bathroom correctly, if your digestions are better, if you rest better… All the observation will help you to assess how you are and thus be able to adapt your diet week by week until you find the most suitable for you. And finally, enjoy all the positive aspects of the process towards healthy eating, eating consciously and how the body appreciates it with more energy and feeling better physically and mentally.