Wardrobe Wellness

By taking your time to learn about your eating habits and slowly replacing them with better meals, you will feel much better within yourself physically, mentally and emotionally.” ealthy eating along with exercise is very important for maintaining proper body function and living a well balanced life. However, eating a healthy diet is not always convenient or easy to do in our fast paced, junk food culture. Wanting to make this change is the first step on the road to health success, but itcan also feel difficult to know where or how to start! If you struggle with healthy eating, then you know that breaking unhealthy habits can be the most difficult part of the process. Therefore, if you truly want to make a lasting impact on your diet, you can start by making some easy food replacements and switching some daily habits in order to start living the healthiest lifestyle possible.

A great first step when you want to start eating your way to a healthy lifestyle is to rid your home of all temptations that will distract you from following better eating habits. Ideally it would be wise to keep junk foods and beverages out of your house so as not be tempted to snack during the day. If you’re worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like carrot sticks, yogurt, fresh fruit, or mixed nuts on hand. If you cannot bear to toss out the sweets, try some healthier alternatives to keep your sweet tooth satisfied. Afterall, it is about progress over perfection. Eating a few, (emphasis on few) of these won’t ruin your diet but crowding out your pantry with healthy food swaps can make a huge impact on your food choices in the long haul!

Preparation is a major key in commencing a new healthy diet. You must take into consideration your schedule for meals. If you often eat in a rushed hurry at odd times of day, you are probably more inclined to grab a rushed meal which will probably do more harm than good. So plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast food lunch on the go, take a bagged lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh fruit and vegetables. For your evening meals, making a meal plan is an ideal way to have your food ready to prepare for when you get home. You can plan this the week before you do your weekly shopping, and designate a couple of hours to food prep before you start a busy week. Be forewarned, when going to the store, do not go shopping hungry because if you’re anything like me, when hunger strikes, venturing off task can be easy and some temptations may sneak their way into your cart. A great tip is to stay away from the center aisles of the grocery store as that’s where all of the junk food lives. The outer aisles are filled with your fresh produce and health food items which should always be crowding out your cart and your meals.

Initially many won’t find it difficult to make those necessary changes to healthier eating. However, some may not feel well for a short period of time due to sugar withdrawal that is added to many of these junk foods. Don’t let this discourage your progress, as this feeling is completely normal. Your body is adjusting to your new and improved lifestyle and is cleansing itself from the unhealthy toxins built up from poor eating habits. If this feeling continues or you are worried about these symptoms, a visit to your doctor would be the correct thing to do. Finally, start with baby steps. Even if you only replace one soda a day with a glass of sparkling water with lemon, you are really improving your calorie intake, and even adding a huge health benefit to your day. If you eat fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that half of the time with better quality foods. When you start by taking small steps you aren’t cutting out all of the foods you love all at once. By taking your time to learn about your eating habits and slowly replacing them with better meals, you will feel much better within yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. Remember, progress over perfection and you will be well on your way to becoming as healthy as you can be in no time!

TIP: TAKE ACTION!

It is always important to know the quality of the food that you put into your body.

I recommend downloading the free app, “Fooducate ‘’ which you can use while grocery shopping. This app allows you to scan barcodes on any food item and then shows its nutritional value. This app not only helps you find clean eating options, but it can also help you track your meals and even lose weight!