We all have one life on this planet, and it is spent in one body. How we fuel it will determine the quality of the journey, and that is why it is so important to eat healthily.
Eating healthy is the easiest and the hardest thing to do, so if you fall off the vegetable cart and eat some less than nutritious food, jump back on the cart again. It is all about working towards your new, healthy life.
Everyone knows the importance of healthy eating, but many tasty distractions derail us. To stay on our path, we need to have the desired result we are working towards and a plan to achieve it. If you want to transition to healthy eating, follow these smart goals to get you there, laid out week by week. Use these weekly goals, and in 5 weeks, you will have made a full transition to healthy eating. Good habits are contagious, and your whole family will love the changes!
Here are five smart goals for healthy eating every week:
Week 1 – Read a New Nutrition Book
We are not talking about huge books like War and Peace here. Your goal for week 1 is to go to the library or book store and pick up one book about healthy eating. It could be a cookbook with interesting recipes that you want to try or a nutritional guide to intermittent fasting and the keto lifestyle. You are the one transitioning to a healthy diet, so pick a book that aligns with your path. Get a new book every week and build up a smart food library.
Week 2 Goal – Use a Meal Delivery Service
I know what you are thinking. I thought we stopped buying take-out and fast food? Yes, we did. The type of meal I’m talking about is a service that provides healthy meals, dropped off at your front door. This is your week two reward.
Great healthy meal delivery companies use local, organic ingredients. They work with nutritionists and qualified chefs to prepare incredibly delicious and nutritious meals for the whole family. You can make a one-time order or get a regular delivery so you can take a break from cooking a few times a week. For busy families, it’s a way to eat healthy when you don’t have time to cook.
Week 3 Goal – Buy Wholesome Groceries
Week 3 is all about stocking up your home for success. You can’t practice jump shot if you don’t have a basketball, and it goes the same for food. But instead of sports equipment, you are gearing up with food!
Pick an easy day for weekly shopping. Start by making a 7-day menu in the morning and break down all the ingredients. Use the books you’ve been reading to build a healthy meal plan. Break it down into ingredients and head to the store. Most of your shopping will be around the edges of the store where the meat, fruit and veggies live, so walk in with your cart and turn right, right away.
Only buy what you need and resist the junk food temptations. This is your transition week, so use up what you already have at home while eating the newer, healthier stuff you just bought. By the end of the week, most of the old stuff should be gone.
Week 4 Goal – Start Healthy Cooking
Most of us have some kind of skill set in cooking, but more and more, this is becoming a lost art. We are talented at ordering out and getting fast food, but that will not get you to your goals.
Implement that 7-day menu on week 4. You bought most groceries on week 3, but it was your transition week, so don’t sweat it. There will be lots of groceries to make your meals from this week’s shopping, and as you go, you can build new shopping lists for what you are running out of.
Your meals will be full of colourful vegetables and your protein of choice along with fats and healthy grains. Enjoy nature’s bountiful harvest, and remember, if it comes in a can, box or bag, try to avoid it.
Week 5 Goal – Pack Lunches
This is a simple way to stay on track when away from the house. Starting week 5, every family member has to eat lunches, drinks and snacks brought from home. This includes the kids at school to the adults at work.
It may not be cool for kids to eat packed lunches, especially teens. They love to walk to the fast-food locations and get their “nutrition” ala carte. The same goes for work at lunchtime. Your office mates probably go for a coffee run and order in lunches. Be strong and stick to your homemade meal. You get to control the healthy items inside your home kit, and you’ll save money simultaneously. And the best part, you get to eat those tasty leftovers from last night’s dinner!