It’s the start of the New Year, which for many signifies it’s time to set a New Year’s Resolution.
Eating healthier is a popular resolution that is often misjudged as being easy to accomplish. This is why so many people struggle with changing their diet and maintaining it throughout the New Year.
Achieving your goal of eating healthier doesn’t have to be hard. Follow these 5 tips from 3Natives to stick with your New Year’s goal.
3Natives is a fast-casual restaurant focused on offering healthy and affordable food options. We take pride in each of our made-to-order smoothies, juices, sandwiches, wraps, and salads.
Tip #1: Find a Diet that Works for You
When we say diet, we don’t mean going gluten-free, cutting out sugar, switching to eating only plant-based food, or meticulously counting the number of calories you eat per day.
Your diet is what you eat on a daily basis. If your current diet consists of little to no servings of fruits and vegetables, it may be time to change it up. A bad diet can have you feeling sluggish during the day, making it hard to focus on work or school. It can also lead to increased health risks, such as obesity, high blood sugar, or heart disease, which can affect your quality of life.
A New Year’s diet can consist of anything that works for you, or that keeps you feeling full throughout the day. The trick to finding a diet that works for you is understanding what you already enjoy eating. For example, if you enjoy eating sweets, try swapping some of your sweet treats out for fresh fruits.
Instead of focusing on what you can and can’t eat, put full focus on what makes your body feel good.
Tip #2: Discover New Ways to Use Healthy Ingredients
Do you already know what fruits and vegetables you enjoy eating? Try to find new ways to use these healthy options in your everyday meals.
For example, if you enjoy eating zucchini, add it to your favorite pasta recipes. Or, instead of using beef in your favorite meals, try swapping it out for lean proteins such as turkey or chicken.
Another easy way to add fruits and vegetables into your daily routine is by making a smoothie. Fruit smoothies can easily mask the taste of spinach, carrots, and many other vegetables.
3Natives offers a wide variety of fresh fruit smoothies that are both filling and leave you feeling energized. Browse our healthy food options!
Tip #3: Try to Plan Your Meals
Planning what you’re going to eat for the next week or even just for the next few days can make eating healthy much easier.
Meal planning can be as simple as creating a grocery list before your next trip to the grocery store. This can help you think through what you want to eat for the next week and make healthier choices. It can also help you cut down on spending, as shopping without a list can lead to unnecessary purchases.
The trick in meal prepping is finding meals that use similar ingredients and fit your time constraints. If you are someone that only has an hour or two a week for meal prepping, try to find recipes that take under 30 minutes to make. One-pot or one-pan recipes are also a good option, as they require minimal dishes to prepare.
There are many recipes available online that you can customize to suit your taste.
Tip #4: Set a Goal That’s Easy to Track
Instead of saying “I only want to eat this many calories per day” or “I want to lose this much weight”, focus on creating smaller goals, such as “I want to start eating two servings of fruits a day”.
This can make your goal of healthy eating much easier to accomplish, as it’s easy to keep track of on a day-to-day basis. Weight loss and calorie-based goals can be overwhelming, as they are big-picture goals that don’t necessarily tell you the steps to accomplish them. However, losing weight also tends to be the result of eating healthier. So whatever your ultimate aims are, setting simple goals to eat healthy can help you get there.
Tip #5: Don’t Change Your Diet All at Once
Our bodies literally become addicted to what we eat on a daily basis. Take coffee for instance: once we stop drinking it, we can experience headaches due to caffeine withdrawals. This can also be said for other ingredients, such as sugar and salt.
Instead of shocking your system all at once with a complete change, try slowly transitioning into a healthier diet. This can help wean your body from unhealthier desires, such as sugary drinks or salty snacks.
To do this, try gradually making changes throughout the next month. Instead of having a soda with your lunch, swap it out for juice or water every other day. Then the next week, try to only drink juice or water with your lunch.
Bonus Tip: How to Stick to Your New Year Resolution
Sticking with your New Year’s goal can be difficult at first, but here are some ideas on how to make it easier.
Before starting your new habit, try to set a goal that’s easy to achieve and measure your success against. This could be as simple as adding a new fruit or vegetable to your diet each day. Focusing on the small goals can help you get less overwhelmed by your long-term goals.
Another way to stay with your resolution is to tell someone about your goal for the New Year. This can make it harder for you to quit, as you’ll have the motivation to do it for more than just yourself.
You can also try to start your goal with a friend or family member, which will help you stay accountable to your goal. If you don’t have anyone that wants to eat healthier with you, try joining a Facebook group for healthy eating. These groups are great for keeping yourself accountable and maintaining the motivation to keep up with your health goals.
Eat Healthy at Your Local 3Natives
Find quick and healthy food options at your local 3Natives. Each of our locally owned and operated stores offer fresh takes on your favorite foods.
Looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth? Try one of our signature acai bowls. These bowls are loaded with fresh ingredients sure to satisfy and expand your palette.
No time for meal planning? Get healthy breakfast or lunch on the run. Each location offers a full menu of delicious made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, wraps, salads, and smoothies.