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As someone rightly said, your diet is your bank account, and good food choices are investments that yield maximum benefits.
A healthy diet is all about consuming nutrient-dense foods. From lean proteins and healthful fats to colourful veggies and whole grains, you need to extract the best out of all the major food groups.
If you aspire to become healthy from the inside, you need to swap trans fats, sugar, and salt with other nutritious options. There are various benefits of adopting healthy dietary habits. These benefits include stronger bones, a stronger immune system, and protecting the heart.
Mythbuster: Generally, people think that eating less can help them with weight management fast. You don’t need to eat less; you just need to prepare the right meal.
But the burning question is, what exactly do you need to eat to stay fit?
When it comes to healthy eating, choices are limited. And we’ve listed some fantastic food items that can help in meeting all your fitness goals.
Breakfast is certainly the most important meal of the day. It fills you with energy and keeps you going throughout the day. That’s precisely why you need to have a whole grain breakfast before starting your day.
According to health professionals, whole-grain cereal retains the bran germ and endosperm. These nutrients make your breakfast not only nutritious but also keep you full.
You can also have a whole grain cereal before your workout session. Try a whole-grain cereal and pair it with skim milk or a bagel. You might have to skip the cream cheese and butter as saturated fats strain your metabolism and take longer to digest. Also, it might affect the oxygen levels in your blood and muscles.
According to health experts, drinking high amounts of sugary drinks and soda might have an adverse effect on your body. Their harmful effects range from increased chances of tooth decay to an elevated risk of heart diseases and other metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes. You wouldn’t want that for your body and health, would you?
Fortunately, you can swap those unhealthy drinks with other better hydrating options. For instance, water is always going to be your best friend. It flushes out toxins from your body and makes your skin glow.
You can go for other calorie-free beverages as well, such as protein shakes and power smoothies. They’ll keep you refreshed and energized throughout a hot summer day.
For all those pancake fans out there, we have good news for you. You can now actually eat your favourite food without worrying about gaining weight. Yes, you read that right. It’s possible.
Pancakes are not only tasty but also super easy to make. That’s precisely why many people opt for pancakes for their meals. But instead of going for calorie-filled pancakes, you can simply go for collagen protein pancakes every time you feel like having a heavy yet healthy meal. With only three ingredients, you can make such a delicious meal in no time.
For this, you need to mix mashed banana, collagen powder, and vegan protein powder with eggs in a glass bowl. After mixing, cook those pancakes like regular ones and garnish them with your favourite toppings, including honey, blueberries, or peanut butter. Enjoy them as your next breakfast in bed or post-workout recovery meal. The best part of protein pancakes is that you can have them for your dinner too.
There are times when you might feel hungry but not enough to take up an entire meal. In that case, you might want to grab something to munch on. But you need to restrain from a bag of chips as consuming excessive salt might end up making you crave more fatty foods. And that’s not going to make you feel healthy.
If you feel like munching on something, make sure you go for healthy options such as a platter of fruits. Your body digests these carbs easily and adds the natural energy you need to get on with your work.
Eating an apple or a banana right before your workout session can also fix you up with some helpful nutrients required for an intense workout session. And that makes it a perfect pre-workout meal.
You might be thinking about how a burger can be good for your health? Let us clear that up for you.
A meat-free burger is an organic option if you follow a full-time paleo diet for healthy living. A black bean veggie burger is full of protein and fibre you can get from plants. You can add split peas, black beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans to the recipe.
In fact, you can replace the cheese slice with protein-rich soy products such as tempeh, nuts, and tofu. Have it for dinner and enjoy your burger without feeling guilty about it.
At times, you might want to give yourself a break from all those fruits and veggies. In that case, you need to stick to healthy options such as a low-calorie energy bar.
It is also considered a perfect pre-workout snack. Look for the one with 200 or fewer calories and have it an hour before the session.
Caution: Opt for an energy bar with low fibre content. This is because consuming too much fibre before a workout might upset your stomach and could make you feel sick.
To sum it all up
At times, you might feel like succumbing to the temptation of reaching out for high-calorie food items, but you need to resist the urge.
Remember, it’s okay to make variations that fit your needs and lifestyle the best, but you need to make sure you make healthy choices while preparing your meal. Veggies, hummus, lean proteins, and whole grains will always be your smart bets.
Fortunately, you have a whole list of healthy and delicious food items to give you a good start to keep your body in good shape.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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