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| Edited By: Sapna Vyas |Source: DNA |Updated: Apr 22, 2018, 07:50 AM IST
Many of us are trapped in our old, unhealthy eating patterns. In fact, we might not even be aware of the patterns, but we do know that:
Anyway, these are good realisations as it shows that we are concerned about our health and are ready to put ourselves into an area of uncertainty and discomfort in order to change.
Any individual’s eating pattern must focus on including a variety of nutrient-dense foods while limiting empty calories. Each individual must aim to meet their daily nutrient needs through a healthy eating pattern composing of nutrient-dense foods.
Now you may ask, what are nutrient dense foods? They are such foods that have a combination of both high nutrient contents and relatively low calories. In short, foods consisting of multiple vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lean proteins are considered as nutrient-dense foods.
While empty calories are those that come from foods or drinks offering minimal nutrients. They possess high caloric value but provide little to no health benefits to the consumer. Solid fats and added sugars in both foods and beverages are primarily responsible for the formation of such empty calories.
So the key is to build a healthy eating pattern, which means choosing a variety of nutritious foods in the right amount — and making those choices, a part of your everyday routine. Following are some of the common eating patterns that are difficult to change:
These are just a few common examples. Do you have any of these? Or are there any other patterns apart from these, which are keeping you locked down into a less-than-healthy lifestyle? Whatever it is, if youre ready to make a change, then lets take a look how you can change your eating patterns. If you’re ready to make a change, let’s look at how to change our eating patterns.
Choose foods and beverages from all food groups — vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and proteins — not just one or two of them. Start with a healthy breakfast, lunch, a snack or two and end your day with a healthy dinner. Keep it simple, easy to prepare and based almost entirely on healthy whole foods and not processed ones.
Aim to get less than 10 per cent of calories each day from saturated fats. Foods higher in saturated fats include butter, cheese, whole milk, meats higher in fat (like beef ribs, sausage, and some processed meats), poultry skin, and tropical oils like coconut and palm oil. Instead of all these, go for foods having unsaturated fats like — seafood, avocados, all types of nuts, and canola or olive oil.
Also, aim to get less than 10 per cent of calories each day even from added sugars that are syrups or other sweeteners with calories, added to foods and drinks when they’re being made or prepared. Better stick to foods and drinks having naturally occurring sugars in it like — those present in unflavoured milk and fruits — or the best, no sugar at all.
Don’t sacrifice your desires — instead, include delicious nutritious foods, healthy indulgences like dark chocolate, red wine, coffee, berries, tea and a couple of free meals each week (don’t hog, just eat whatever you want in a moderate amount).
Give your habits time to change. Challenge yourself to stick to the meal plan (with two free meals per week) for over a month. This will give your mind and body ample time to adjust to your new habits.
Have healthy alternatives to your usual comforts like — fruits instead of sweets, air-popped popcorn or carrots and hummus instead of fried chips.
If you can’t avoid a social gathering, either make it one of your free meals (remember to eat moderately) or plan, what to eat and what not.
If you don’t like the taste of vegetables at first, it is completely fine, but train yourself by having them every day for a week. Gradually, you will get a hold of their taste.
