Balancing your diet and your busy professional life can be a difficult task. Considering how you spend most of your time at work, you have little time for your nutrition and diet. But good health is necessary to live; How can you make time to pay attention to your diet?
It’s not really necessary, not much anyway, as there are a few ways you can tweak your diet. These are very small and it takes almost no time to make these changes. Here are three small but very helpful dietary modifications you can make:
Avoid cooked breakfasts
First thing in the morning, the body is still in cleansing mode. As such, it’s important to avoid heavy, cooked breakfasts from the start, as this goes against what your body naturally wants to do. Eat light breakfasts like fruit first thing in the morning, which coats your stomach and may cause you to eat less.
Alternatively, try eating something like porridge with flax seeds or pumpkin seeds. Both seeds are a good source of omega-3 (another source is fish) which is good for joints and can help prevent depression and brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. So skip cooked breakfasts in the morning and opt for something that is easier on your digestive system.
Reduce your portion sizes
You tend to lose track of what you eat and how much you eat when your mind is preoccupied. You’re worried about deadlines, presentations, and meetings at work, so you don’t pay attention to how much you eat. However, you can easily correct this by simply reducing your portion sizes. Reducing your food intake means that you will not overeat and consume only what your body really needs.
Overeating is one of the most common causes of obesity, heartburn, high cholesterol, and diabetes. By eating smaller portions, you exponentially reduce your risk of ending up with one or more of these conditions. In addition to reducing your portion sizes, try to eat more slowly so that you can more easily recognize when you’re full and savor the flavor of your food.
drink more water
While caffeine may be beneficial in the short term by keeping you awake and alert, the added dose of sugar you get is not. Avoid coffee if you can, as it is an artificial stimulant. If you absolutely must, try omitting the sugar or reducing the amount. Also, increase the amount of water you consume throughout the day by keeping a water bottle with you and taking regular sips. Water will keep you hydrated and refreshed throughout the day and will reduce your need for coffee and other stimulants.
These small but simple dietary modifications will allow you to live a much healthier and more nutritious lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, the key to a healthy lifestyle doesn’t require major changes. Small changes, like the ones discussed in this article, can make a big difference in the quality of your health and life. The challenge is to stick with them, not give in to temptation and be consistent.