Are you eating healthier but not feeling better? There are 8 steps you can take to eat better, feel better, and be healthy all at the same time!
In an effort to heal the body, maintain health, or to improve one’s weight, an increasing number of people are turning to healthy eating or clean eating to achieve these goals. While this is an excellent thing to do, the problem lies in the confusion and the misinformation out there surrounding what’s truly healthy eating. Because of this, many people try valiantly to eat healthy and do better but still don’t see the results they’re looking for despite their efforts. If this sounds like you, reasons such as the ones discussed below can be hindering your health and fitness goals.
Highly Processed Foods
Any heavily processed food (especially if it’s processed in an unhealthy form) is not natural, is lacking in nutrients, and is harder for the body to digest and use. The result can be nutrient deficiencies, inflammation, or hormone imbalance.
“Gluten Free” Processed Foods
Most commercial gluten-free products are very highly processed, contain a lot of starch, and are greatly lacking in nutrient density. Many people mistakenly think that if a food product is gluten-free, then it’s better than the traditional version. This is not the case. Unless you have a true need to avoid gluten, it’s always best to get a truly whole grain that’s organic and ideally sprouted. If you have to avoid gluten, find as much as possible naturally gluten-free foods, or gluten-free products made from whole foods rather than from highly processed, isolated ingredients.
Cheating More Often Than You Think
If everyone were to write down everything they ate, there would likely be many people surprised at how much bad stuff they actually ate. In addition, many people don’t actually eat as many vegetables, fruits, and truly healthy foods as they think they do. Furthermore, many people mindlessly snack on foods or take a bite here and there of things without even necessarily noticing. All of these “cheats” can add up. Not that being healthy or fit requires perfection, but the point is simply that many people tend to cheat and eat a lot more of the things they shouldn’t than they actually realize.
Consider Your Food & Your Drinks
When aiming to eat healthier, many people give a lot of care and consideration to their food, while placing less importance or emphasis on what they’re drinking, which can be a problem. Coffees (especially the highly-processed or sweetened versions), energy drinks, sweetened teas, sweetened chia drinks, sweetened kombucha drinks, milk, processed juices, alcohol, etc. all can add up to be a good amount of sugar, calories, and processed food going into our bodies. Additionally, most of these drinks provide little to no actual nutrition. What’s more, not only do many people tend to drink too much of the bad stuff, most people are chronically dehydrated, not getting nearly the amount of water they should. Dehydration or lack of optimal amounts of water in and of itself can cause a number of issues.
Skipping Meals & Overeating
Especially with breakfast, many people tend to skip meals. This can cause problems with hormone balance and can also lead many to overeat and choose less-than-ideal food options. It’s a good idea to eat well-balanced, frequent meals to keep the blood sugar stable and to help prevent overeating and poor food choices. Skipping meals can also lead to more snacking which can easily hinder results.
Get Variety
Many people tend to commonly eat the same foods. Even if these foods are healthy, too much of anything is not a good thing. Eating the same foods all the time can lead to minor or significant food sensitivities and allergies that can cause inflammation, water retention, hormone imbalance, and gut problems. Make sure to eat something new or different each week to vary the food and nutrients your body is getting.
Consider Deeper Health Issues
If you’re truly eating healthy and still aren’t seeing the results you’re looking for, then there’s a good chance that there’s something deeper going on internally. Commonly some of these deeper issues tend to be autoimmune disorders, leaky gut, gut flora imbalance, hormone imbalance and adrenal fatigue.
Stress, Sleep & Lifestyle Factors
While healthy eating is crucial to being healthy and fit, it’s not the only important factor. If you’re eating optimally, but you’re stressed, aren’t sleeping well, or aren’t very active, then true health and fitness results likely won’t come, or remain. It’s important to understand that true health, wellness & fitness comes from a proper healthy balance of nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle factors, all of which must be considered.
If you truly wish to get and keep better health or fitness outcomes, eat healthy, drink healthy and make sure to get proper activity, rest, and relaxation.
