5 Practical Tips to Make Healthy Eating a Lifestyle

It’s 2pm and you’re hitting the wall. 

Your eyelids start to droop, brain fog settles in, and your energy levels plummet. You subconsciously reach for a Coke, or a handful of nuts, or one of those mini bags of chips your office manager keeps on hand in the kitchen (they’re small, so they’re not that bad for you, right?). Unsurprisingly, you skipped breakfast that morning, you’ve had three cups of coffee, and you haven’t had a sip of water in hours. 

You know there’s a link between energy levels, motivation, and eating healthy–but establishing sustainable habits feels like a massive hurdle. In between meetings, sorting an overfilled email inbox, and handling a manager that’s just-checking-in, eating healthy choices at work is low on the priority chain. It easily becomes another task chipping away at your already-drained mental capacity. 

Fortunately, eating healthy as a lifestyle requires small efforts that, over time, don’t feel like efforts at all.

This article won’t tell you to bring low-fat Greek yogourt to work (does anyone actually like low-fat Greek yogourt?). Instead, we’ll dive into some very simple psychology tricks you can apply to your life that will boost your energy levels, help you lose weight, and feel better in body, mind, and spirit.

Ready? Let’s talk about our top tips for eating healthy as a lifestyle, and the additional benefits you can expect to gain in the process.

Let’s Actually Define Healthy Eating

Look, healthy eating is a pretty vague term, and more often than not, is Googled by folks who aren’t quite sure what they’re looking for. And there’s a lot of advice out there on how to do it well. Understanding what works for your body, your habits, and your lifestyle will ultimately determine your ability to incorporate healthy foods into your diet. There’s truly no one-size-fits-all approach.

So let’s get into it. First, what’s your goal? Are you trying to lose weight? Improve your energy levels? Reduce risk of heart disease? Get the right nutrients? Clear up your skin? Sleep better? Improve your gut health?

You’ll be happy to hear that most of these healthy eating goals can be achieved through three concepts: 

1. Eating whole (i.e. unprocessed) foods.

2. Eating all foods in moderation. 

3. Eating a diet that is sustainable to your lifestyle.

Why Whole Foods?

The grocery store doesn’t just have a catchy name; it comes from the organic nature of the products they sell. Typically, whole foods come from nature, not a package. Think fruits, vegetables, legumes, rice, herbs, and cuts of meat (not deli meat).

In essence, the more processed a product is, the more bad stuff it has and the less good. The bad stuff includes refined sugars, salt, saturated fats, and additives. These ingredients don’t do much for your body–they don’t deliver the nutrients your cells need to survive.

Some examples of refined products include deli meats, chips, crackers, soda, some dairy products and alternatives, cookies, pastries—and really anything where you can’t immediately identify the ingredients in them.

Fortunately, you don’t need to avoid processed foods altogether (and shouldn’t)—you should just enjoy these foods in moderation. After all, chocolate is good for your mental health (we made that up but it’s probably true).

What Does Moderation Look Like?

We’re not going to beat around the bush here. Eating in moderation means eating when you’re actually hungry. What can this look like in practice?

• Don’t eat because you’re bored.

• You don’t need to finish all the food on your plate. Save it for lunch tomorrow.

• A little end of the night treat doesn’t have to be a whole chocolate bar; just eat a few pieces. 

The goal is to listen to your body, understand your hunger cues, and gain control over your choice to eat. Control the urge to crush the whole bag of pretzels; eat a small bowl of them instead. Your tummy ache will thank you later.

How to Make Healthy Eating Part of Your Daily Routine

Did you know you can trick your brain into eating healthy—for good? The trick is to understand that foods aren’t inherently “bad” or “good” (except for trans fats—avoid avoid avoid). Instead, it’s important to listen to hunger cues from your body, and eat when you need to (so you don’t starve yourself until you’re ravenous. Cue the mini chip bags). This in turn can help you eat foods in moderation; a principle that allows any and all foods to exist in a diet.

And yes, that includes the office donuts.

In the article below, we’ve paired some simple, helpful strategies with psychology. So you can make healthy eating part of your lifestyle—at work, at home, and all the time.

1. Change Cravings With Good Habits

In 2004, Morgan Spurlock released his eye-opening, biographical documentary Super Size Me, and uncovered a fascinating truth about human cravings. After a month of eating McDonald’s for three meals a day, Spurlock experienced high blood pressure, depression, heart palpitations, and lethargy—all of which were a surprise to the early-2000’s movie goers.

Aside from the expected consequences to his health, Spurlock discovered an additional side effect that still surprises viewers today. After a month of only eating fast food, Morgan Spurlock didn’t get tired of Big Macs—instead, his body craved them.

Our bodies are easily addicted to excessive sugars, salts, and fats. It’s what makes those fresh McDonald’s fries so darn tempting. Cravings become a vicious cycle that propels our instincts to pick up a pizza on Friday night, to cram another donut in our mouths, or to down an afternoon sugary drink.

We reach for foods that we’ve trained our bodies to reach for—largely, through the cheap hits of dopamine that rush through our brains when that Doritos dust hits our tongue.

Unfortunately, our bodies tend to treat high-fat, high-sugar, high-carb foods the same as drugs. That overly-sugary sweetness triggers dopamine, the happy hormone in our brains, and that hormone feels good. And while some folks can quit chips, sweets, and French fries cold-turkey, most of us do better to wean off.

To get you started, try the following:

1. Choose a week to commit to (yes, only a week—if you do well and feel good, you can commit to another week). It’s important to set intermediate milestones (because eating healthier for even just a week is worth celebrating!)

2. For one week, try to cut your intake of pre-packaged goods, junk food, or sweet drinks—whatever your vice—in half.

3. Intentionally replace these foods with easy to pack, whole-food snacks. Think blueberries for sweet cravings, rice crackers and hummus for savoury. Pick something that makes you excited to eat.

4. Treat yourself to fast food on Friday night (and Saturday too, if you like), but don’t let yourself get takeout mid-week.

5. Repeat for as many weeks as you like. When you feel confident, reduce your intake of less-healthy foods by a little bit more, and commit to another week.

6. After a few weeks, assess whether you feel the same pull to junk food—you may be surprised at your reduced cravings.

2. You’re Not Hungry; You’re Thirsty

Feeling snackish? Drink a glass of water first.

The concept that people misinterpret hunger cues for thirst is questionable; some researchers say yes, and some say no. Regardless of the truth of this statement, two things are clear: water is critical for your body’s ability to function properly, and water makes you feel full.

For that reason, our second tip to eating healthily as a lifestyle is to drink a large glass of water when you find yourself itching for a snack.

So what’s the benefit? Largely, some studies have shown that drinking a glass of water before eating a meal can make you feel more satiated. If you chug a glass of water, and then reach for the mini bag of chips, you may feel less inclined to eat the whole thing.

Furthermore, some studies have shown that water increases metabolic rate—or how quickly your body burns calories. This occurs because the body needs water to burn fat. In a state of dehydration, the body holds onto fat cells, while increased water consumption can increase the sympathetic nervous system and increase your heart rate—which in turn burns more calories.

We should note that simply chugging glasses of water all day will not expedite weight loss; water helps with weight loss because it often leads to a reduction in calorie intake. In other words, it’s not the water itself that cuts fat, it’s eating less because you’re full. 

Finally, incorporating enough water in your diet helps your body complete all functions it naturally needs to get done. Drinking adequate amounts of water can improve your sleep, your ability to focus, and the appearance of your skin.

Go pour yourself some water!

3. Eat Foods You Enjoy

Look, eating healthy doesn’t mean a lifetime of brown rice, chicken, and broccoli. Even pro-athletes will crush a Big Mac or two on a busy day. So what gives? Where do we draw the line? Here, we’ll look at the concept of a sustainable diet.

Most nutritionists, personal trainers, and even Tik Tok fitness gurus will preach a similar concept: choose whatever strategy is sustainable for you. Consistency in your eating habits will impact your health and weight in the long run significantly more than committing to plain rice and boiled broccoli five nights a week.

This approach doesn't work because most people cheat on their diet, or bounce back for the worse once they’ve given up. Plus, who wants to eat boiled chicken for the rest of their lives?

Instead, choose healthy foods that you actually enjoy eating, consider making your less-healthy cravings from scratch, and don’t be afraid to eat the occasional processed snack when those alternatives just don’t do it for you. Remember, moderation and sustainability are key.

Here’s what this can look like in practice:

• Craving take-out pizza? Instead, buy pre-made thin pizza crusts, top it with pizza sauce from a can, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, and as many veggies as you can handle (the more surface area covered, the better). Enjoy no more than four slices, and keep the rest for tomorrow. Congrats–you’ve just eliminated half the calories in cheese alone–not to mention the excess grease that comes in that take-out box. You’ve also ingested a huge serving of fibre, antioxidants, and tons of other nutrients your body needs to function. Plus, you've eaten in moderation, and are set up for dinner success tomorrow too.

• Are desserts your vice? Try making them at home and cut the added sugar in half (or look up a sugar-free recipe), sub for another sweet snack (think fruit, tofu desserts, dark chocolate), or settle for a very thin slice of cake. 

4. Start With Protein

Some of us struggle to eat when we first wake up, but eating breakfast can greatly impact how hungry we feel throughout the day. Starting your day with 30-40 grams of protein is even better–and can easily make or break the productivity of your day. 

Most adults should eat 0.8 grams of protein for every kg of body weight, every day. Protein intake should increase for adults who exercise regularly, or take part in other strenuous activities. As a whole, protein triggers muscle synthesis, boosts your metabolism, allows your body to repair itself, helps you stay alert, and makes you feel more satiated. (1)

So, why does it matter when you eat your protein? Studies have shown that protein is necessary to switch from a catabolic state (your body is getting nutrients from your muscles to maintain itself while you sleep–which breaks down muscle), to an anabolic state (your body has fuel available for building muscles and cells). Eating protein first thing in the morning can kickstart this process, which helps you feel more alert, and lowers your appetite throughout the day.

So, no matter what your goal is, protein is an excellent strategy for weight loss, maintaining energy levels, or simply taking care of your body. And whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast!

5. Keep It Simple

At the start of this article we talked about three key concepts for healthy eating as a lifestyle: eating whole foods, eating in moderation, and eating in a way that feels sustainable. 

So, to revisit those concepts, our final tip is to keep it simple. ‘It’ being meal prep, healthy diet research, portion sizing, food choices, all of it–healthy eating doesn’t need to be over complicated. In fact, the easier you can make it for yourself to sustain, the more successful you’ll be.

Most diets fail because they’re difficult. Drastically changing your habits overnight is impractical, setting rigid rules for yourself is no fun, and cutting out any foods cold turkey isn’t necessarily the best approach. Instead, slowly changing the way you think about food by making conscientious decisions will change your lifestyle for the better. 

You don’t need to say no to any foods, but be cognizant of the nutrients your body is getting throughout the day. Before you put something in your body, think about whether you can identify what’s in it. If not, eat less of it. From there, stop eating when you’re full. Listen to your body. And finally, stick to strategies that don’t feel like a chore. Choosing tips and tricks that are easy for you to follow, means you’re more likely to incorporate them into your life in the long-run. Which means eating healthily for life. 

In Summary: How to Eat Healthy as a Lifestyle

No matter your goal in the scope of healthy eating, three key concepts should stay top of mind: eating whole foods, eating in moderation, and eating sustainably. Maintaining a healthy, guilt-free relationship with food is incredibly important for changing the way you approach your diet, and choosing what works best for your body is step number 1. Eating healthy is not a one size fits all approach, but is made up of a series of best practices based on other lifestyle factors.

By incorporating some, or all, of the strategies mentioned in this article, you can get well on your way to supporting your body in the way it needs; whatever that looks like for you.