Reviewed by: Erica An, BNutr&Diet, APD
Are your 2019 goals shaped around your nutrition and health? Perhaps your New Year’s resolution is all about losing weight. Well, it does NOT have to be hard. Small changes that you implement consistently each day will make all the difference to your results in the long term!
Check out these 5 easy diet changes to smash your New Year’s resolution in 2019:
Make veggies the hero
All too often we feature protein (hello steak) or carbohydrates (mmm pasta) as the feature of our meals. But by simply reversing this learned habit you’ll cut down your calorie intake hugely whilst feeding your body with considerably more vitamins and nutrients (and your body will LOVE you for it!).
How to implement: Choose 2 of your favourite vegetables to feature in each dish, then add a small portion of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats around that. For example: Spiralized zucchini and sweet potato “zoodles” with roasted cherry tomatoes, shredded chicken breast and pesto sauce.
Need more inspiration? Click here for the best in-season fruits and vegetables right now.
Don’t skip meals
You’ve probably heard this over and over again, but eating at regular intervals throughout the day is crucial to ensure your body is sufficiently fuelled. Eating your 3 main meals, plus 2 snacks in between, will keep your energy levels steady and help to avoid behaviours of binge eating later in the day (and we all know how regretful that makes us feel!).
How to implement: At the start of each day (or week!), plan out your meals so you know exactly what you’re eating and when, so there’s no opportunity for slip ups (or skipped meals!). If you need a helping hand with meal planning, check out 12WBT for more.
Make H20 your best friend
Open your fridge now and bin any drinks that are not water (or milk!). This is perhaps one of the simplest but most effective ways to encourage results, both with your weight and your overall health. Of course you can still have your daily coffee (skip the added sugar though), but any other liquid you hydrate with throughout the day needs to be water only.
How to implement: Try sipping on herbal teas throughout the day instead, or fresh lemon/lime and mint in your chilled still or sparkling water. YUM!
Plan for your treats
Consistency and maintainability are KEY in any health program. So cutting out all indulgent foods is just plain silly (and totally unrealistic!). Instead, plan for your small daily indulgence so you have something to look forward to. Our suggestion? Learn to love dark chocolate!
How to implement: 2 squares of quality dark chocolate (>70%) after dinner each night will keep you totally satisfied and become something you look forward to! After something else? Try our Cacao Fudge Bites.
Dear diary
Writing down what you eat each day in a food journal can totally reshape your food habits. Not only will it make you more accountable to what ACTUALLY goes in your mouth, it can identify food groups you’re not getting enough of each day. It can also allow you to identify your triggers that lead you to unhealthy eating or binges.
How to implement: Start by jotting down what you eat after all your meals. Apps like MyFitnessPal are useful to do this right on your phone. After just a few days/weeks of tracking, you’ll be able to pinpoint trends and areas for improvement. Eg. eat 2 more serves of vegetables each day, ensure you eat a healthy afternoon snack to prevent overeating at dinner time.
Need some more encouragement? 12 weeks will change your life. Find out more here.
