How to Eat Smart (Without Dieting)

Member

By DaniaDenise
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating:

(8 Ratings)

Eat Smart (Without Dieting)

It isn’t always easy to eat healthy but these days taking small steps to change your eating habits can make all the difference and no diet is needed! If you think you have the control and discipline, check out the following steps and see how to turn your body and your health around!

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Discipline
Fruit
Veggies
Other healthy snacks
Portion Control
Lots of water!

Step 1

One of the biggest eating habit changes many are now following is to eliminate the “3 meals a day” mantra and instead eat 5-6 meals a day. Sound crazy? It isn’t. It’s all about portion control.
Step 2

The key to following this type of eating regimen is to reduce the portions of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In between each of those main meals, you should be snacking. Yes, snacking! BUT the idea here is to substitute junk food and sweets for healthy snacks.
Step 3

Another thing to keep in mind is that water should become your best friend. Many times our “hunger pangs” are actually just the need for water. Keep a bottle of cold, fresh water near you at all times to train yourself to reach for that instead of something filled with caffeine, sugar, or artificial flavors. By reaching for water daily, you’ll not only curb hunger pangs, you’ll be doing your body and your skin right by flushing out harmful toxins.
Step 4

If you currently skip breakfast, shame on you! This may sound like an after school special but having a meal to start your morning helps not only with keeping energy throughout the day, it also helps your brain stay focused and alert. Even those short on time can manage to squeeze in a bagel with your favorite spread, a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, a protein or power bar, or even a breakfast smoothie. There should be no reason for you to start your morning off on an empty stomach (you’ll find yourself starving by lunchtime, resulting in overeating).
Step 5

After having a good breakfast, you can start your day off right. But what to do when your stomach starts trying to get your attention but your lunch break is still a few hours away? That’s where your first healthy snack of the day comes in. This can include your favorite fruits and veggies. Ideal snacks for in between meals include: bananas, strawberries, yogurt, celery sticks, baby carrots (don’t forget the dip if you need it!), fruit snacks, etc. You’d be surprised by how full a handful of fresh fruit can make you.
Step 6

Keep your lunch simple and remember portion control. Sandwiches are ideal. If you’ve got the time, make your lunch the night before. Eating a freshly made lunch is often more satisfying than picking a boxed lunch and tossing it in the microwave.
Step 7

After a day’s work, you’re back at home and it’s not quite dinnertime but you’ve got a case of the munchies. Not to worry! Again turn to your healthy snack list and choose a small handful to enjoy. You don’t want to eat too much or else you’ll spoil your appetite and you don’t want to skip out on dinner.
Step 8

Meal A is a smaller portion than meal B.

When dinner comes around, portion control is extremely important. The best way to enjoy your dinner is to actually make it! Instead of relying only on meals that come in boxes, practice gathering ingredients and making a home cooked meal. Try to keep your dinner portions to no larger than your palm or the size of your hand when you make a fist. Trust me, after the mini meals you’ve had throughout the day, when dinner rolls around, your hunger pangs will be greatly reduced. This prevents overeating.
Step 9

Overeating is bad!

Don’t skip on any of your mini meals if it can be helped. One of the worst ways to ruin your eating habits is to skip out on meals. This will only lead you to be starving by the time your next meal hits, which will undoubtedly result in eating way too much and feeling guilty about it afterwards.
Step 10

A handful is better than a bowl or bag.

Surprisingly, eating smart doesn’t mean you necessarily need to cut out everything you love. It’s perfectly fine to indulge in ice cream, candy, or potato chips but the key is to do so in moderation. Try to limit your “indulgent snacking” to weekends and when doing so, practice portion control as well. Instead of eating half a bag of potato chips in one sitting, grab a handful and only eat that amount. This is where the discipline comes in!
Step 11

Stick to this method of eating and you’ll not only avoid packing on pounds, you’ll be boosting your metabolism by keeping your body constantly burning calories. This lets you maintain a healthy weight and you’ll find yourself super energized throughout the day.