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When it comes to eating better we all have made it a diet goal, some sort of “new you” resolution or whatever is you want to call it, and we often don’t follow through with it. We have probably had a good month or so of following this plan to eat better and we rocked it out, and then came the after party or late night cravings. Then we fell for the trap and got that double cheese burger, with those perfectly salty greasy fries and a nice drink to go with it. After that our healthy eating habits go down the drain. We don’t intentionally want this to happen, but sometimes we fall off track. A lot of it could be due to stress, especially if you’re a college student cramming to finish homework or study. Or if you have a job, or various extracurricular activities. At some point the stress of all of that catches up, and the only familiar way of distressing is to eat.
Eating better is all about having a balance. A little over a year ago I began cooking healthier meals for myself. I was brought up on eating my native Nigerian food that consists of meats, oil, rice, pounded grains, and frying anything that was possible to fry. The first step to my healthy eating journey was completely cutting off drinking pop, I told myself I just need to and stop thinking about it, and do it. Pop was always my weakness, the caffeine and artificially flavoring was all I craved for. So when I told myself that time that I was done drinking pop, I knew I was sure. I completely cut it off, like cold turkey. There were temptations to just take a sip, like it wouldn’t hurt, but I knew it would. Whenever I did or do have the cravings for pop I’ll drink flavored sparkling water. I found this as the perfect alternative because the sparkling in it gives it the caffeine affect and the flavor gives the sweetness that I am craving for. I have noticed a complete change in my face from a year ago. My skin does not break out so easily, the glow is back in my skin, and there aren’t any dark circles under my eyes. I also don’t fill fatigue as much or sluggish.
I minimized my meat intake and replaced it with eating more seafood, like fish and shrimp. I cut out eating fast food, and reduced the oil that I use to cook with. This may seem like a drastic cut off, but for me it worked and it might not for you. I went to eating more seafood mainly because it was a healthier way for me to get my protein intake and because meat was all I really knew and I wanted to try something new. Since there are so many chemicals and enhancers that are put in meats, like chicken and beef, seafood was a way to decrease the chemical intake for my body. About five months after switching to eating more seafood, I saw a tremendous change in my energy level, my weight, and my breathing. My breathing especially was an amazing change since I am a runner, I noticed that I wasn’t breathing as heavy or getting tired so easily. It was like a mini rebirth!
There are so many other ways to take on your healthy eating journey so I’ll be sure to share many more tips with you all!