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Living a healthy lifestyle should not be something too difficult or too frightening for the average human being. It’s not like you’re preparing for a zombie apocalypse, you know.
It’s more like breathing — a part of your everyday life and simple to do. With a little focus, determination, and will power, beginning to change your current lifestyle to a healthier one can be easy as pie. There are many difficulties people find with beginning to change their eating habits for the better and actually sticking with it.
According to the writer, Emanuel Poche, the biggest difficulty for people to live a healthy lifestyle starts from within. The cost of eating healthier is high, but if you are able to make sacrifices with your finances, it can be done.
It starts with you making the decision that you want to do better for yourself. Once you make this decision, the high costs of food, the amount of time it takes to prepare meals, and the lack of motivation will no longer be major issues to you.
Here, I want to provide you with a few modifications that you can make in your everyday life to help you transition into eating better and living longer.
There are many substitutions for ingredients with better health benefits than the ingredients you may use on a daily basis. It’s all about baby steps right?! Right.
So check out a few healthier alternatives you can begin to incorporate that will leave your taste buds satisfied and your tummy tight. The first and probably most common modification you can make in your diet is by switching from white grains to whole wheat grains.
I once read that the Swiss government decided to increase the amount of white bread in their government because they didn’t want their citizens purchasing it, and if they did they would use that extra money to give to bakers to reduce the price of wheat bread. Whoa- that says a lot, doesn’t it!
So, why are white grains so looked down upon? Well, essentially, it’s fake! It’s not the real thing. White bread, for example, is created by stripping away the bran and germ layers from the original wheat bread. It can then be bleached as well, causing it to have a longer shelf life.
Use fruit smoothies as an example. Naked juices have a longer shelf life because they have chemicals that preserve the fruits and vegetables.
A homemade fruit smoothie would definitely go bad much sooner than a Naked smoothie. Which one would you rather have? The all natural one, or the one with chemicals that could end up being harmful to your body?
It has also been noted that people who ingest whole grain products are slimmer in the waist area and have lower cholesterol. Try switching to whole grains and see how well your body reacts!
Examples of whole grain products to try: Wheat bread, brown rice, and wheat flour. Another common and probably one of my favorite modifications is using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
Greek yogurt has many health benefits such as providing you with protein to keep you full longer, calcium for strong bones, and a low-fat percentage. What more can you ask for?! It has the same texture as sour cream and has a mild taste, making it super easy to incorporate into your new healthy eating routine.
Some dishes I personally incorporate Greek yogurt in the areas listed below:
- Tacos topped with Greek yogurt
- In tzatziki sauce for grilled chicken pitas or spiced meatball sandwiches
- Blended with butternut squash for a creamy butternut squash soup (I also blend it with boiled sweet potato and boiled carrots for that same, thick, creamy soup effect. All taste amazing.)
- On top of chocolate protein powder banana pancakes
- Mixed in fruit and granola parfaits
- Used in overnight oats
Try some of these and let me know what you think! I promise you won’t be dissatisfied. This last ingredient I am going to challenge you to ditch will probably make you feel angry towards me. But yes folks, it’s butter.
But butter makes everything taste better! Yes, I get it, but the fat content in butter is ridiculous…and trust me, I’ve seen you spread about two tablespoons of butter on your toast. Not good.
However, don’t feel defeated! I have a simple modification for you that you most likely already have in your kitchen. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed olive oil, you are 100% correct and deserve a pat on the back.
Olive oil is considered a “healthy” fat meaning although you should limit your servings in a day, I would feel better if you spread two tablespoons of that on your toast instead. That might be a stretch- but trust me, you’ll feel much better on the inside and out. I’ve been living in Paris for about 6 months now and have yet to purchase butter.
I cook solely with olive oil and I honestly feel like I don’t need to ever use butter again. You can train your body to only like ingredients that will leave you feeling better and living longer!