Looking to revamp your eating habits this year? You're not alone! The start of 2025 is the perfect time to embrace a healthier lifestyle. But with so much conflicting advice out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
Central Ohio Primary Care dietitian Kelly Lane, RDN, LDN, shares nine tips for healthier eating that you can stick to.
1. Pack protein into each meal and snack
Protein is an essential macronutrient that is important to add to each meal and snack. It provides energy and is known as the building block of muscles, bones, and even skin, hair, and nails. Protein also keeps you feeling fuller for longer, aids in food digestion and plays a role in hormone regulation.
It is helpful to stick to leaner protein options. You can do this by trimming excess fat from meat before cooking. Healthy alternatives to cooking protein include grilling, baking, or roasting protein sources.
Some examples of lean protein foods include meat, fish, eggs, tofu, beans, yogurt, and peanut butter.
2. Create a colorful plate
Adding a variety of fruits and vegetables to your meals increases your vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant intake. These are essential in growth, immune function, and even brain development. Fruits and vegetables also keep you fuller for longer due to having adequate fiber. Fiber helps aid in digestion and lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
How to create a colorful plate:
- Include a side salad with your main dish.
- Add extra lettuce, tomato, and onion to your sandwiches.
- Make a smoothie with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, spinach, peanut butter, water, or milk.
- Use any fruit or vegetable with a dipping sauce for a snack: carrots and celery with ranch or hummus or an apple with peanut butter.
3. Choose complex carbohydrates
Just like fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates contain fiber. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest due to this, which, as a result, helps regulate your blood sugar, control cholesterol levels, and keep you fuller for longer. These carbohydrates are also less processed and have less added sugar.
Some complex carbohydrates include whole-grain bread, whole wheat noodles, oatmeal, quinoa, brown or wild rice, and starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas, and corn.
Quick Tip: Plant-based pasta, made with legumes (chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, etc.), often doubles as a complex carb and lean protein option!
4. Add healthy fats to meals and snacks
Did you know there are four different types of fats within food? These include polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, saturated, and trans fats. With your meals and snacks, increasing your volume of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can provide a variety of benefits to your body. These fats supply your body with energy, lower your risk of heart disease, help absorb nutrients, slow down digestion to create a sense of fullness, and even aid in memory. An easy way to make sure you are getting an adequate intake of unsaturated fats is by cooking with olive or avocado oil and consuming two servings of fish per week.
Some examples of healthy fats are olives, avocado, cheese, dark chocolate, eggs, fish, nuts, and seeds.
5. Listen to your body
It is common to ignore when your body tells you it is satisfied during a meal. Evaluating your hunger before you eat, during a meal, and once you are finished can eliminate the habit of overeating. But you may still wonder, "How do I know when to stop eating?".
Using a hunger scale can help test how hungry you really are. A hunger scale ranges from 1-10, 1 being very hungry, your stomach is gurgling, or you feel fatigued, and 10 being very full, you feel stuffed, or your stomach starts to hurt. The goal on this scale is to fall between 4 and 7. Taking breaks during a meal to assess your hunger level will help you understand how your body feels at that moment!
It is also helpful to slow down and notice the textures and flavors of your food while you are eating; this is known as mindful eating. It takes the body 20 minutes to send signals that it is full. With the incorporation of mindful eating, you can have a better understanding of when you are satisfied.
6. Plan ahead for success
When life gets busy, it is easy to eat out for convenience. One way to avoid this is by preplanning meals and snacks for the week and creating a grocery list. Not only will this help you stay on track, but it can decrease food waste. Making a grocery list can help you identify if you have all the ingredients to build nutritious meal and snack options. Aim for balanced meals with protein, a veggie or fruit, and a complex carb.
Quick Tip: Start making one meal a day at home and increase the frequency as it becomes a habit. If there are leftovers, you can use them for lunch the next day! Write down meals that you enjoy to remember them for a later date. For more tips on meal planning, go here.
Some examples of a well-balanced meal:
- "Sheet pan" meal: grilled chicken, any vegetable, and potatoes (cooked on sheet pans)
- Pasta dish: Whole wheat pasta with a marinara sauce and shrimp
- Taco night: Whole wheat taco shells with ground turkey, brown rice, lettuce, onion, jalapenos, and salsa
- Salmon bowl: Baked salmon, quinoa, roasted vegetables, topped with sweet and sour sauce
7. Snack smart
Snacking is one way to maintain energy levels and help prevent overeating at mealtimes. A powerful "snack formula" consists of a protein source, a complex carbohydrate, and healthy fat to maintain energy levels.
Some examples of a well-balanced snack:
- Greek yogurt with mixed berries
- Tuna or chicken salad with crackers
- Pear slices with ricotta cheese
- Guacamole with celery and bell peppers
8. savor your favorites (in moderation)
When it comes to treating yourself, moderation is key. Food is meant to be enjoyed, whether sweet or salty; you never want to eliminate these foods from your diet! Depriving yourself of these items may lead to overindulging in the future. Some great ways to stay on track while incorporating sweets and treats are to focus on serving sizes and pairing these foods with a protein source to fulfill hunger.
Some examples of how to satisfy food cravings while not going overboard:
- Strawberry chocolate Greek yogurt bark
- A scoop of ice cream topped with peanut butter and nuts
- No bake energy bites
- Chocolate-covered dates topped with peanut butter and sea salt or peanuts
9. Stay Hydrated
Today, there are a variety of beverages that contain added sugar and artificial sweeteners. It is best to stick with water to stay hydrated; consuming enough water helps regulate blood pressure and prevent constipation. Consuming at least 100 ounces per day for men and 73 ounces per day for women is recommended. Some individuals may need to drink more than others due to physical activity, diet, metabolism, and size.
Ways to increase water consumption:
- Carry around a water bottle wherever you go.
- Purchase a water bottle with a straw.
- Flavor water with lemon, lime, or fruit.
- Incorporate unsweetened tea into your lifestyle.
It can be overwhelming to change the way you plan, cook, and enjoy your meals. Avoid getting anxious or burned out by starting slow and focusing on small changes to create habits. These nine recommendations can make all the difference and set you up for success!
Sources:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/simple-and-complex-carbohydrates-1087570/
https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/fish/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-tell-when-you-are-full/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-water-do-you-need-daily/