Recently, I was asked about how to get into a regular healthy eating routine. It was such a simple question yet it threw me off guard because I realized that I wasn’t really sure how to answer it! I am so glad I was asked it as this is a perfect topic for a blog post and I am sure it may help you out, as a beginner in your healthy and active lifestyle or even as a ‘seasoned professional’ 😛

 The First Step – Plan

The first step with any routine is planning. Get a journal, piece of paper or even just your phone and write about what your plan is and some small goals. For example: I want to get into a routine of eating healthy and nutritious foods by including more leafy greens into my diet. Now, write down a meal plan with enough meals to cover you for five days. This gives you leeway to hang out and eat with friends. Take a look at a sample meal plan I have done by clicking here.

The Second Step – Buy

Now that you have written some goals and a meal plan, it is time to buy the food needed to bring this healthy eating routine to fruition! Everyone’s meal plans will be different and ergo, everyone’s grocery list will be different. The graphic below is a shopping list to accompany the meal plan I discussed about in the first step. Do NOT feel obligated to use this grocery list as everyone’s needs are different. It is simply a guide and something I use to help me.

The Third Step – Do

By ‘do’, I mean actually make the meals! Trust me, cooking is not difficult and you can only get better with practice. If you are busy and strapped for time, I suggest meal prepping the Sunday before the week starts. For me, my lunches and dinners are so quick that the only things I usually have to assemble are the meats that go into my lunches and some breakfasts’ such as overnight oats.

The Fourth Step – Keep Motivated

A downfall for many people (including myself) is a lack of motivation. This could happen for any number of reasons, such as not seeing results as quickly as you had hoped, feeling stressed out, and etc. For me personally, I find that using Instagram is a huge motivator not only because of the amazing and inspiration accounts you can find there, but because the health and fitness community on Instagram is so kind and supportive. Progress photos are also a great tool to keeping motivated as it can really open your eyes to how far you have actually come.

Good Luck!

I hope this post will help you slowly ease into a healthy eating routine or help motivate those who have been on their healthy lifestyle for a while. Sometimes it is useful to go back to basics and to re-evaluate your goals and intentions because … people change! I used to be all about getting skinny, getting to 110 pounds and whatnot, so my ‘healthy meals’ looked really different (basically all low-carb and unsustainable). My goals now are to reduce my overall body fat, to get strong and to feel confident in a bikini. My meals are balanced and full of carbohydrates, fats and proteins as well as the occasional treat to keep me from binging.

What are your healthy eating goals? How can I help you achieve them?

Honestly yours,
Alice

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