If you are looking for ways to try and get healthy and in shape, then it’s pretty safe to assume that one of the first things you looked in to was calorie counting. On a basic level, calorie counting can be an effective way to keep tabs of your daily food intake without going overboard, but there are definitely some healthy eating nuances and vitals that can be missed when all you are doing is counting the number of calories on a package and not looking at the nutritional value. Here is how to eat healthy without counting calories.
Rather than counting calories, you should put your focus into cutting back and completely cutting out added sugars, refined grains and processed foods instead. After cutting these types of foods out, you are left with options that, although not super low in calories, will have all of the fibre and protein that will help you to stay feeling full and avoid snacking all day.
A vegetable heavy diet is obviously the way to go here because you can basically eat as many veggies as you want without ever having to worry about the calorie. A huge vegetable salad or bake big enough to feed an entire family can have even fewer calories in it than a single meal at a fast food place.
Sodas and sugary drinks are one of the worst things for a diet, and because they aren’t technically ‘food’ people don’t tend to count them towards their daily calorie goals. To avoid these hidden calories, just take them out of your diet altogether and opt for sugar-free drinks instead.
Contrary to what some people believe, protein is that thing that can keep you feeling fuller for longer. It can slow the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugar, and therefore can help your body to prevent blood sugar spikes.
Food labels can be misleading, especially in the diet and weight loss industry. Try to avoid foods that proclaim to be low fat, reduced fat and light, because whilst they might be reduced in some area, they will be making up the taste in others with lots of additives that aren’t recommended for a healthy diet. The thing that is usually added to these foods to make up for the lack of fat taste is, yep, you guessed it, sugar!