Starting a real food diet does not need to be that difficult. The secret to success is to find an approach that you can make work. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be functional.
Think Long-Term
My advice is not to think of your diet as a short term plan, or as a strategy to stick to strictly for a few weeks. Instead, view it as a progression through which you constantly endeavor to improve your food choices.
Should you slip up — accidently devour a whole package of Oreos in a single sitting (or whatever your personal food demon is) — don’t be too hard on yourself. Just recognize it as a chance to identify a potential pitfall, and seek out ways to avoid it in the future. With that in mind, here are some tips.
Eat More Good Fats and Protein
Keep in mind that we are hardwired to favor sugary, fatty foods — and to steer clear of starvation! Those are two enormous reasons that conventional dieting is so challenging. The good news is that when you start eating a real food diet, you don’t have to deprive yourself – you just have to make better food choices.
One example of this is trading typical low-fat diet foods for more satisfying alternatives. Real foods that are rich in protein and good fats – think eggs, grass-fed meat and dairy – will help keep you satisfied.
For me, a super easy change like switching from cereal to eggs for breakfast made a big difference. I stopped suffering the pre-lunch energy crashes, and my sugar cravings dropped to nothing. I also lost some fat — and my cholesterol profile looks terrific!
Work on Being Mindful
A classic piece of dieting wisdom is to pay attention as you eat — especially being mindful of when you begin to feel full. When you follow a real food diet, you may be eating foods with more fat and protein than you’re accustomed to. These foods will satisfy you much more easily than low-fat or high carbohydrate foods. Concentrate on noticing when you’ve had enough, and your portion sizes will adjust themselves.
Even though the typical diet advice is to not go back for seconds, I can’t recommend that. For me, it just encourages loading up my plate with a lot more than I really want or need, and feeling like I need to finish all of it. I think it’s a healthier idea to start with a tiny serving and return as many times as you need to. Just make a point of going slow, and notice how satisfied you are between servings.
Ease Through Cravings
Don’t get too concerned about cravings when you are beginning a real food diet. Struggling against them will just make you miserable. Keep the idea of continuous improvement in mind, but give in here and there. As your diet gets better, cravings will ease up and will become less of a problem for you. Should you not find this happening within a few weeks, it’s time to revisit your diet and try some different things. Be certain that you’re getting enough good fats and protein, and keep working on reducing the amount of sugar you consume.
Also — and this is essential (at least for me) — make sure that you always have one thing that you can indulge in. Find one thing that you truly love (in moderation!), and invest in a good real food version of it. My indulgence is ice cream, and I can tell you that it works wonders in keeping me content and satisfied while I go about my diet.
You Deserve to Succeed
Last – just remember that you deserve to eat well. I won’t lie – it does take some extra effort to seek out and prepare healthy real foods. With more experience, it will get quicker and much easier – but for now, remember that you are absolutely worth it!
Get the facts on real food diet plans. Check out www.real-food-diet.com where you can find out about real food diets and how they can help you feel better and lose weight.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Suscribe to LifestyleExaminer.com
Don't miss out on anything new that we post on our site!