The Importance of Eating Healthy

As we all know, eating healthy is important if you want to maintain a normal body weight. Beyond that, there are many other reasons why it's important to maintain a healthy diet.

By eating the right foods, you can help your body fight against developing certain diseases. I would rather steer clear of diabetes that runs in my family. I made the necessary changes in the hope that I avoid this disease. This is why I avoid the candy and ice cream I used to eat, and eat the vegetables I stayed away from for too long.

Surprisingly, it's not hard to eat the right foods, once you get accustomed to it. I don't even crave the sweets anymore. Also, I don't get hungry, as I eat every couple hours. For those looking to make changes in their diet to lose weight, this is an important lesson. If you eat nuts, seeds or some other healthy snack every few hours, you will avoid the hunger that will force you to turn to the unhealthy foods.

Avoiding the bad foods is easy… just limit the amount of processed foods you have. Look for products that have no more than five or so ingredients in them.

By limiting the processed foods, you'll be able to cut the consumption of things like sodium, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame and other unhealthy ingredients. I haven't had aspartame in so long and I do notice the difference. I rarely get headaches anymore, something I used to get when I had too much Diet Coke. I can't remember the last time I had a product with aspartame in it. Also, by limiting processed foods, my sodium is within normal levels as I have around 1700-2300 mg a day. 

Also, having enough protein is important, especially if you are strength training, as I am. I have a plant-based protein powder after I workout, as the whey protein doesn't agree with me. Adequate protein will keep your muscles from wasting away and keep you satisfied longer.

For those looking to lose weight, it's necessary to make lifestyle changes. You shouldn't focus on temporary diets that will only get you back to your old habits once you lose the weight. The healthy foods have to be a part of your diet everyday. There are cheat days once in a while. As long as you don't have ice cream every day as I used to, it's okay to eat the sweets on occasion.