How to Make More Positive Diet Choices

December 18, 2019 • By Benjamin Wilson
The estimated reading time is 3 minutes

Looking to get slimmer this year? You need to start by evaluating your diet and deciding where you need to improve. This doesn’t necessarily mean clearing out your cupboards and starting again – just a few simple diet choices will help you to eat better in the long run.

Here are five positive diet choices to make this 2020:

  1. Don’t shop when you’re hungry

One of the worst things you can do for your diet is to shop while you’re hungry. Your pre-planned shopping list will go out the window, replaced by on-offer unhealthy snacks and tempting foods from the bakery aisle. It’s best to shop after eating a meal so that you can make practical food choices, rather than those based on hunger.

  1. Practice mindful eating

Don’t dismiss mindful eating until you’ve tried it, because it’s been scientifically proven to help people on a diet to lose weight. Mindful eating helps you to pay full attention to your experience of eating your food, including the taste, your physical hunger cues, and your feelings of fullness. By being aware of every sensation while you’re eating, you’ll be able to get more enjoyment from your food and push your plate away when you’re full, rather than overindulge. To practice mindful eating, make sure you’re eating with no distractions, such as the TV, which will move your focus away from your food.

  1. Get a good night’s rest

Our sleep is essential for helping us to stick to a healthy diet and eating habits. Not only can bad sleep have an impact on your diet choices and self-control, it has also been linked to a slower metabolism and weight gain. Try to ensure you get your eight hours of sleep every night to avoid an increased appetite the next morning. Take a look at this resource for more information on the impact of sleep on our diets.

  1. Drink more water

Our bodies often confuse dehydration for hunger, which is why you’ve probably found that you’ll eat every pretzel, biscuit and bread roll that’s offered to you on a moisture-evaporating plane journey. Your body will think it needs to eat, rather than the truth: that it needs an increased liquid intake. Rather than succumb to a mid-afternoon snack craving, try drinking a glass of water or a cup of herbal tea. Keep track of how much water you drink daily if you don’t think you get enough.

  1. Just don’t buy it

If you know you’ve got that family bar of chocolate sitting in your fridge, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’re going to go for it, whether you’re hungry or not. Even if you manage to be good after dinner, that one bar of chocolate will linger in your mind while you’re trying to sleep – and the next thing you know, you’re out of bed and heading to the kitchen for a midnight feast. If you’re trying to make more sensible diet choices, the best thing to do is simply not buy the foods that will tempt you. There’s nothing wrong with a little treat every now and again, but keeping a consistent stock of the bad stuff isn’t the wisest idea.

Benjamin Wilson

He is a fitness trainer and part-time blogger interested in nutrition and in leading a healthy lifestyle. He writes smart and inspirational articles on nutrition supported by scientific research and his own personal experience in the healthcare industry.
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram