Skip the Extremes and Start with the Basics.

I feel like people are bypassing the basics and seeking out extremes to eat healthier or to lose weight. People automatically get on the latest fad diet when actually if they took the time to look at their lifestyle, their dietary patterns and habits they would realize that they don’t need to jump on the bandwagon of the latest diet they just need to focus on the simple, basic, healthy eating guidelines. Instead of slashing the carbs, avoiding gluten or adding coconut oil to everything you eat stop complicating things and get back to some of the basics:

Do you eat at least 5 serves per day? Do you eat them with lunch and dinner? Eating plenty of vegetables is the basis of a healthy diet.

Are you focusing too much on calories or certain nutrients and not on nutrient rich foods? Instead of stressing over the calorie content of foods or the fat content focus on eating nutrient rich, wholesome foods that are going to fuel and nurture your body.

Are you active enough during the day? – pop on a pedometer, if you’re struggling to get 5,000 steps per day good idea to start busting out a few more.

Are your portions sizes correct? You may be eating plenty of healthy nutritious foods but maybe your portions are too big or even too small for what is appropriate for your lifestyle and activity levels.

Are you eating too many highly processed nutrient poor foods and not enough natural, nutrient dense,  whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans, legumes, dairy, meats and fish?

Are you drinking enough water and limiting fruit juices, soft drinks, sugary drinks and alcohol?

Are you getting adequate sleep? Lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your hormones, lead to fatigue, increase hunger and decrease motivation.

Do you have a healthy, balanced, flexible approach to eating that benefits your physical, mental, social and emotional health?

So rather than focusing on whether you need to up your fat, cut your carbs or go fructose/sugar/gluten free start by working on some of the basics. Once you have the basics sorted it is quite likely that you will have a healthy, nutrient rich diet which will be better for your health, will be sustainable and you may even come to realize that the fad diets are exactly that – a fad.

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