How to Start a Diet and Sustain it?

Here are some of the top healthy eating tips that actually work.

1. Don't put it off - start now, not tomorrow

If you are a person who procrastinates a lot, this could be one reason why your thought of getting healthy is not at all working. When you say,'let's do it tomorrow', you most probably will never start the process. The first thing for you to do is create a starting point. It could be tomorrow, the weekend, or the beginning of the coming month. Once you fix the time, do not waver.

2. If you're offered a drink, choose a sugar-free one

One of the easiest ways to sustain a healthy diet plan is to choose the right food. Let's say you are offered a drink. It could be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Choose the ones with no sugar. An average 12-oz soft drink has 40 grams of sugar. That's about 150-160 calories in just one drink. How many such soft drinks do you end up drinking on a good day? Think about it.

Such drinks add unintentional calories to your everyday diet, contributing to weight gain.

3. Cut out alcohol

Most of the alcohols you drink are calorie-rich. You could be choosing zero-calorie alcoholic drinks and say that works. But the problem is how you feel after a drink. Bar snacks are made for a reason. Alcohol induces your appetite and encourages you to pick up crunchy, fatty, and greasy foods that will be calorie-bombs.

4. Don't buy biscuits, snack on fruit

If you are offered a biscuit in one hand and a fruit in another, which one will you pick? Healthy eating is all about self-control. However, if you are struggling with self-control initially, stay away from temptations. Change your shopping habits and don't stock up on snacks at home.

5. Only eat between meals if you are hungry

There is a difference between actual hunger and hunger because of cravings, boredom, or stress. You must know that. Most people eat healthy main meals but lose it when it comes to mid-meal snacking. A healthy diet plan should include enough main meal portions to avoid snacking between meals.

6. Have a healthy weekend

Have you seen people eating healthy food and working out over the weekday but completely losing control over the weekend? Weekend starts from Friday evenings,which means they are gorging on everything unhealthy for 2.5 days. This is not going to help you lose weight.

7. Plan your meals

Planning your meals is a great way to initiate healthy eating. This way, you will have the right ingredients at home to cook, and you don't have to keep thinking about what to eat every single time, or end up picking a takeaway or finding something unhealthy to satisfy your hunger at that moment.

8. Put more vegetables on your plate

There is so much to be said about the benefits of eating vegetables. Vegetables are filling, they are full of antioxidants, and majorly, they are high in fiber. A high fibrous diet pushes out cholesterol deposits from your gut and can actually help bring down weight.

9. Take lunch to work rather than buying it

You may find it easy to order a takeaway or pick a packed lunch at work. However, most of these are loaded with saturated fats and excess sugar. Start your healthy diet plan by cooking simple and nutritious foods at home and carrying them to work.

10. Get moving

At every chance you find, get moving. Taking the stairs, walking while on a call, standing and working on your laptop are easy ways to burn extra calories effortlessly.