Tips on How to Eat Healthy Without Dieting

Eating healthy can be easy, affordable and delicious if you stick to some simple recommendations.

After all, a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and lots of other things you would rather avoid. The good news is, eating right does not have to be hard or require you to give up things you love.

It is all about making smart choices to build an overall healthy dietary pattern.

Sticking to a conventional diet and exercise plan can be difficult. However, there are several proven tips that can help you eat fewer calories with ease.

These are effective ways to reduce your weight, as well as to prevent weight gain in the future.

Here are tips that can be used to maintain a healthy eating routine without necessary having to follow a diet plan:

1. Chew Thoroughly and Slow Down

Your brain needs time to process that you’ve had enough to eat.

Chewing your food thoroughly makes you eat more slowly, which is associated with decreased food intake, increased fullness, and smaller portion sizes.

How quickly you finish your meals may also affect your weight. Study shows that reported that faster eaters are more likely to gain weight than slower eaters. Fast eaters are also much more likely to be obese.

To get into the habit of eating more slowly, it may help to count how many times you chew each bite.

2. Use Smaller Plates for Unhealthy Foods

The typical food plate is larger today than it was a few decades ago. This trend could contribute to weight gain, since using a smaller plate may help you eat less by making portions look larger.

On the other hand, a bigger plate can make a serving look smaller, causing you to add more food.

You can use this to your advantage by serving healthy meals on bigger plates and less healthy food on smaller plates.

3. Eat Plenty of Protein

Protein has powerful effects on appetite. It can increase feelings of fullness, reduce hunger and help you eat fewer calories. This may be because protein affects several hormones that play a role in hunger and fullness.

One study found that increasing protein intake from 15 percent to 30 percent of calories helped participants eat 441 fewer calories per day and lose 11 pounds over 12 weeks, on average, without intentionally restricting any foods.

If you currently eat a grain-based breakfast, you may want to consider switching to a protein-rich meal such as eggs.

Other examples of protein-rich foods include chicken breasts, fish, Greek yogurt, lentils, quinoa, and almonds.

4. Do not Store lots of Unhealthy Foods

Storing unhealthy foods where you can see them may increase hunger and cravings, causing you to eat more which in turn may lead to gaining of weight.

It is advisable to avoid storing foods that may be considered unhealthy or if you must have them, make sure that they are kept somewhere that cannot be easily accessed every time you pass by so that they are less likely to catch your attention and tempt you to eat them.

On the other hand, keep healthy foods visible on your countertops and place them front and center in your fridge.

5. Eat Fiber-Rich Foods

Eating foods that are rich in fiber may increase satiety, helping you feel fuller for longer.

It has been established that one type of fiber, viscous fiber, is particularly helpful for weight loss as it increases fullness and reduces food intake. It forms a gel when it comes in contact with water. This gel increases nutrient absorption time and slows down the emptying of your stomach.

Viscous fiber is only found in plant foods. Examples include beans, oat cereals, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, oranges, and flax seeds.

6. Drink Water Regularly

Drinking water has been a song that is sang in every corner of the world. Taking in a lot of water has been proven to help in eating too much food and also contributes to weight loss, especially if taken it before a meal.

If you replace calorie-loaded drinks such as soda or juice with water, you may experience an even greater effect.

7. Serve Yourself Smaller Portions

Portion sizes have increased during the last few decades, especially at restaurants.

Larger portions encourage people to eat more and have been linked to an increase in weight gain and obesity. Serving yourself just little portions of food might help you eat significantly fewer calories.

8. Sleep Well and Avoid Stress

When it comes to health, people often neglect sleep and stress. Both, in fact, have powerful effects on your appetite and weight.

A lack of sleep may disrupt the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin. Another hormone, cortisol, becomes elevated when you’re stressed. Having these hormones fluctuate can increase your hunger and cravings for unhealthy meals leading to higher calorie intake.

What is more, chronic sleep deprivation and stress may increase your risk of several diseases, including type 2 diabetes and obesity.

9. Eliminate Sugary Drinks

Added sugar may very well be the single worst ingredient in the diet today. Sugary beverages like soda have been associated with an increased risk of many diseases.

It is very easy to consume excess calories from sugary drinks because liquid calories don’t affect fullness the way solid food does. Staying away from these beverages entirely can provide enormous long-term health benefits.

However, note that you should not replace soda with fruit juice as it can be just as high in sugar. Healthy beverages to drink instead include water, coffee, and green tea.