Having the best meal plan on paper doesn’t mean a thing if the food is so boring that you don’t end up following it. When boredom sets in, then you find it more difficult to stay on track. Losing weight is a slow process and it takes truckloads of patience, particularly when your eating habits previously remained healthier.
While everyone knows how important a diet should sound in order to reach your fitness goals, many people still identify their diet as the biggest obstacle not as a remedy to stay fit or healthy. The unfortunate reality is that no matter how much you love the gym or how hard you train yourself, you can’t go ahead if you are not sticking to your diet and making it fun for you to follow it diligently.
Here are few tips, by Namit Tyagi, Nutritionist, and Co-Founder of health and wellness brand Neuherbs India, to help you make your food the most interesting part of your routine:
Most of the fruits and vegetables get their colours from the nutrients they have inside them. Because these foods are generally low in fat and calories and provide complex carbohydrates that can give you energy and fiber which makes you feel full, they should have a starring role on your plate at every meal. A few of the benefits of each colour of food.
White Fruits & Vegetables
White vegetables and fruits provide dietary fiber. The fiber in them helps protect against high LDL cholesterol levels, which, in turn, takes care of our health.
Red Vegetables & Fruits
Red coloured foods include tomatoes, watermelon, cherries, beets, and peppers. These foods are rich in antioxidants, anthocyanin, and lycopene, which is healthy for our heart.
Orange & Yellow Food Groups
Orange and yellow food groups get their hue from beta carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A and it’s good for your body bones, eyes and healthy skin.
Green Food Items
Green colour vegetable and food groups provide Vitamin C, K, and E, which can help support the immune system, healthy eyes and bones and reduce your risk of chronic diseases.
Blue & Purple Food Items
Blue and purple in colour fruits and vegetables get their colour from anthocyanins. Blue foods like blueberries have compounds that act as anti-inflammatory elements, reducing the risk of disease in your esophagus and colon.
Try rainbow fruit platter, include different shapes and sizes in it or go with colours according to the days, or just try as many colours on your plate as possible. Flavorful seasoning is a great way to make your nutritious dish more colorful and delicious. Garnish your meals with fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, or dill. Add spices like red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. You will love it.
Enjoy The Goodness Of Dairy Products
We all know from our childhood that dairy foods are an important source of nutrients and are essential for our overall growth and development.
In all walks of life, from children, adults and elderly, for everyone they are a great source of protein, calcium and vitamins. According to the Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), a method of measuring protein quality based on the availability of essential amino acids as well as digestibility, milk provides a higher-quality and complete protein with all the essential amino acids that are required to build and maintain muscle mass and support other related functions.
It also plays a role in supporting our gut health. Fermented foods such as curd, culture drinks and kefir contain probiotics which are the active bacterial cultures. When consumed in adequate amounts these fermented foods provide various health benefits and have the potential to maintain the natural balance of the gut microbiome which is also known as our second brain.
Prepare & Eat What You Love In A Healthier Way
Completely depriving yourself of your favourite foods increases the risk of breaking good habits because it means you don’t ever feel satiated. This makes you binge. By eating foods you like in smaller quantities on a regular basis, means you can sustain your healthy eating over a longer period of time.
But before binging on your favourite food it is important to understand the role of cooking oils that are most commonly used in our every favorite cuisines. Cooking oil plays a huge role in regulating the nutrient quality of the food you consume. Choosing the right oil not only adds health benefits in your diet but also helps you in managing the amount of saturated and unsaturated fat you consume.
Increased intake of saturated fatty acids may increase the levels of bad and total cholesterol which are the risk factors associated with heart diseases. Whereas switching to unsaturated fatty acids like Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) may help reduce the LDL cholesterol levels and can decrease the risk of heart diseases. Along with this it’s important to understand how to choose a healthier option.
Every oil has a different taste and offers a range of health benefits. When choosing the best cooking oil you can consider its smoke point. For example oils with a higher smoke point can be used for frying, roasting, sautéing and baking. Oils with lower smoke points can be used for salad dressings, as a finishing oil, sauces or dips. Rice bran oil, sesame oil, coconut oil and olive oil are some examples of healthy cooking oils that you can add to our diet.
After following the above three easy steps you will feel healthier than before and more in control of your diet plans without getting fed up with it.
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