5 Life Hacks For Making Healthier Eating Easy
Listen as an audio post:
5 Life Hacks For Making Healthier Eating Easy
Do you have a goal to eat healthier?
Everyone can benefit from a diet that is rich in nutrient-dense wholefoods. But for many, healthy eating doesn’t come easy. It can be time-consuming, inconvenient and frankly unenjoyable!
So how can you eat healthier? The secret is to make it easier, quicker and more delicious. That’s where these 5 life hacks can help you make good choices easier - especially when you’re busy, stressed, or juggling a lot.
Prep your veg ahead of time
Meal prepping is great, but you don’t need to create entire meals in advance to make the most of prepping. You can start small by prepping your veggies ahead of time.
When I go grocery shopping, I like to sort out all of the produce before I put it away in the fridge. My greens get washed and popped into a container with paper towel (this keeps them fresh for longer). Then I’ll chop up the capsicum, zucchini, cucumber, sweet potato and anything else I’ve picked up, then pack them into containers ready to use.
Sometimes I’ll go one step further and roast up a big pan of veggies. These are easy to add to a meal – keep them cold for a refreshing roast veg salad or heat them up along with your protein.
You can prep other foods as well, but veg are often the ingredients we skimp on if they aren’t ready to go!
It might seem super simple, but little things like this add up.
When you’re hungry and ready to make your next meal you won’t grumble at the idea of having to make everything from scratch (or give up and order UberEats!)
Find alternatives for your favourites
One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is that they cut out their favourite comfort foods and cravings. Then when the craving becomes overwhelming or a stressful situation arises, they go straight back to eating huge servings and beating themselves up for it.
Personally, I am a sucker for salty, savoury foods. Hot chips (fries) is something that I love, so instead of depriving myself, I make my own.
I’ll chop up some potatoes, spray with olive oil, then sprinkle some onion powder and salt and throw them in the air fryer. That way, I get to enjoy my hot chips, but I know exactly what goes into them.
Whether you’re craving something sweet, salty, carb-rich, fatty, or all the above, you don’t need to ignore cravings to eat healthier. Get in the kitchen and get creative with foods that will nourish the body and satisfy taste buds.
Now does that mean you can NEVER have your favourites again? Not at all – but you can choose whether to indulge or satisfy your cravings with a more nourishing option.
Eat your meals sans distractions
Hands up – who is a chronic multitasker? With smartphones, TV and busy lifestyles, it’s easy to distract yourself rather than being present with your meals. But sitting down to your meal and really focusing on it can have massive benefits for your physical and mental health.
Here’s my go-to routine for mindful eating:
Turn my phone off or leave it in another room (ideally on silent!)
Focus on the food and on slowing down
Whenever possible, no TV or other distractions (the one exception is eating with another person and chatting)
Pay attention to the body’s fullness signals – for me, I notice I’m satiated when I subconsciously sit back a little and do a bit of a sigh
Remember, the human body is very clever! When you can trust that you can rely on your own hunger and fullness signals, you take a lot of stress out of the relationship you have with food.
No more skipping meals!
I get it – it’s tempting to push a meal back, particularly if you’re not hungry. You find yourself pushing your breakfast back, and then you’re not eating anything substantial until lunchtime (or later!)
But then your hunger hormone, ghrelin, will turn up your hunger signals that go to the brain. The longer you go without eating, the more intense your cravings become.
So by the time dinner rolls around, it’s a free-for-all – you can’t stop yourself from digging into seconds of dinner and adding on calorie-packed desserts to satiate you.
Your body rhythms, your hunger hormones and your blood sugar all work best if you’re eating regular meals each day.
Start with 1 small change
When people want to improve their health, they typically go on a full overhaul. But you don’t need to clean out your pantry completely or spend $500 in one go at the health food store!
All you need to do is make minor adjustments. From there, momentum builds, and time does the heavy lifting for you.
For example, you could:
Drink one extra glass of water each morning
Switch your morning orange juice for a fresh orange
Grate some veg and adding them to a dish you already eat regularly
Practice mindful eating for one meal each day
Find a healthy breakfast option you enjoy
Remember: healthy eating isn’t something that you can magically learn overnight.
It’s about the small tweaks you make over days, weeks and months. The more consistently you stick to the little habits, the more your tastebuds adapt, your mood improves, and you start to reap the benefits.
Want to build a healthier relationship with food and achieve your wellness goals?
If you’re sick of feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated and unsure where to start, now is the time to take action.
Together, we can overhaul not only your nutrition and exercise, but also boost your motivation and master your mindset – learn more about my 1:1 coaching here.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
Here I share healthy recipe ideas, training plans, and nutrition & wellness advice you need to know.
Check out my free guide to healthy eating to design your own version of a healthy lifestyle so that you can feel energised and vibrant, or hire me to work my magic on your health through mindset, nutrition, and movement.
While we make every effort to make sure the information in this website is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of medical advice.