Written by Carol
I’m not sure what possessed me to speak on this subject cause I’m sure I struggle just as much as the next person when it comes to eating healthy. It’s like laundry, we all want to do it but when it comes to doing it the voices in your head whisper “But do we have to?”. Anyway, I’m gonna give it my best shot and talk about my self-care routine for healthy eating. Ok calling it a routine is a stretch, I just have a set of 5 rules I follow religiously that help me to eat healthily. Here goes.
Rule 1: If it’s good for you eat it
As we grow, we learn more about our bodies and take care of them, particularly what we need and should have going into our bodies. So, my first rule is that if something is good for me then I must eat it. I make a food plan that fits all the stuff I must eat into my meals for the week and as a food prep lifestyle kinda person this is a little easier for me.
Rule 2: 3 is the magic number
My second rule is a direct follow-up to number 1; If you’re gonna eat it go for 3 times a week. I know it sounds a little rigid but it is very flexible. I fit avocados in 3 times a week. Same with most greens like broccoli and kale varieties. With most things we need, 3 times a week covers our requirements.
Rule 3: First eat what you must then what you want
Rule 3 makes sure that I prioritize the things I need over the things I want. This doesn’t always go 100% well but on a given day I make sure that my diet is based on getting in the nutrients I need then later I can do what I want. I had a struggle with always placing wants first. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of space for the yummies I want even after getting what I need first.
Rule 4: What you don’t eat has nothing to do with you
Without descending into a long discussion about focus I see many people time and time again answer the question about their diet by listing the things they don’t eat: BIG MISTAKE. That only makes your mind think about the things you don’t want to eat and crave them MORE. You can see how this rule works hand in hand with number one.
Rule 5: Variety
Finally, it’s so easy for a girl to get bored of eating the same food in the same way over and over again. So a little variety helps to make things work. I eat my oats as oatmeal porridge, overnight oats, oatmeal pancakes, flapjacks, and oatmeal cookies 😍. The variety keeps it exciting and helps me get my 3 weekly servings without boring me to death.
I hope this helps somebody out there. You’re (or at least I’m) not gonna eat healthy 100% of the time. Just remember that 80% healthy eating is better than 30% healthy eating. It takes a while to learn but as you dedicate more time to it and hopefully start seeing the results it gets much easier.