How many times have you heard that you should be eating in moderation? It’s popular advice for good reason. For one, it’s important to eat a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, whole grains and healthy fats. And if you eat too much of one food — even a healthy one — it can lead to an unbalanced diet overall. You may end up not getting enough of important nutrients, such as vitamin D, calcium, iron, fiber and potassium, and too much of other nutrients such as saturated fat, sugar and sodium.
On the other extreme, restricting your diet can leave you feeling deprived and prone to overindulging on foods you deem off-limits. It’s better to enjoy a small amount of a higher-calorie food, like a small slice of freshly baked apple pie, than to avoid it altogether. Finally, eating in moderation forces you to keep track of your meals and plan them appropriately. Instead of eating anything that’s lying around, you eat with the purpose of nourishing your body and being as healthy as you can be.
[See: 6 Ways to Train Your Brain for Healthy Eating.]
Still, eating in moderation is easier said than done. Want to know the secret? It comes down to having healthy eating tactics in your back pocket. Here are five of them:
1. Plan your weeknight meals.
Busy weeknights have many people skipping home-cooked meals and heading to the nearest fast-food joint. But if you plan meals ahead of time and purchase ingredients on the weekends, you can help avoid the weeknight scramble and cook healthy, quick meals. You can even dedicate one weekend each month to cook and freeze meals so they’re available on days when you just can’t cook.
[See: 10 Healthy Meals You Can Make in 10 Minutes.]
2. Measure indulgent foods.
Small amounts of indulgent foods — think ice cream and chips — can be part of a healthy eating plan. However, if you bring the entire ice cream container and eat it while watching your favorite TV show, you’ll end up eating much more than you realize. Instead, eat high-calorie, more indulgent foods only on occasion, and measure them out in reasonable portions by using a small bowl or plate. Then, put the package or container back where it belongs.
3. Eat breakfast daily.
Breakfast is a fabulous way to take in numerous good-for-you nutrients including fiber, calcium, vitamin D and potassium. You can easily get in several food groups without slaving over a hot stove. Here are a few easy breakfast ideas that include multiple food groups:
— Whole-grain cereal and skim or low-fat milk topped with sliced banana or berries
— Nonfat plain Greek yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts and sliced strawberries
— Oatmeal with sliced peaches and a swirl of peanut butter
4. Eat before a party.
How many times have you made unhealthy decisions when you’re super hungry? Heading out to a party very hungry is one of the worst offenses you can make. Most parties don’t serve up the healthiest fare, so you’ll end up drinking and eating way more high-calorie foods than you intended. Instead, eat a light snack 30 minutes before arriving so you can make reasonable decisions at the party.
[See: 10 Healthy Habits of the ‘Naturally’ Thin.]
5. Find your sweet (or salty) spot.
If you’re a sweets person like me, test-drive some lower-calorie alternatives that hit your sweet spot. For example, I love ice cream, but I don’t love all the calories of full-fat ice cream. Instead, I purchase 100-calorie Greek yogurt bars, which does the trick. Same goes for a salty palate. If you typically eat chips to satisfy your salty cravings, try making kale chips with a sprinkle of salt and cayenne instead. This tactic may take some trial and error, but once you find which food or foods are sufficient substitutes, you will thank me.
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How to Actually Eat in Moderation originally appeared on usnews.com
