How to Ease Into a Healthy Diet

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Cut out one snack at a time.

   Cutting out all of the things that you're used to eating could make your irritable or could make you violate your diet altogether.
   
   Identify times that you snack throughout the day and try to eliminate one of those snacks.
   
   Once you get comfortable without the snack, continue to eliminate snacks until you're just eating three healthy meals and one or two healthy snacks a day.The goal of the diet is to better your health without draining your energy or leaving you hungry.
   
   Keep in mind that snacking is not necessarily a bad thing.
   
   It is just important to limit them and make sure you are snacking on healthy things like fruit, low-fat yogurt, and veggies with hummus.
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   Step 2: Reduce your carbohydrate intake slowly.

   Decreasing your carb intake can help you lose weight and may also reduce your risk of heart disease.Carbs are commonly found in grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk.
   
   While you don't want to cut out all of these foods, especially fruits and vegetables, you can do your best in cutting out high-carb products that don't hold much nutritional value otherwise.
   
   These foods include things like refined grains, sugars, and highly processed foods such as pasta.Replace sugar with things like berries or citrus.
   
   You can cut down on refined grains by using whole wheat products. , Sugary drinks and sodas contain a ton of sugar and carbs.
   
   Even non-sugar variations of most soda contain a significant amount of unhealthy sodium.
   
   Try to cut back, or eliminate sugary drinks altogether.
   
   If you are a big soda drinker, start by reducing the amount you have by a can or glass per week.
   
   You can also try other healthier alternatives like club soda with lemon or iced tea.Avoid sweet drinks such as soda, fruit juice, lemonade, Kool-Aid, and sweet tea.
   
   Replace sweet drinks with unsweetened drinks such as water, flavored or sparkling water, and unsweetened tea. , When you cook at home, you can use healthier alternatives for many harmful products in your kitchen.
   
   Replace high-fat variations with their low-fat counterparts.
   
   For example, ground beef can be substituted with lean ground beef, or ground turkey breast.
   
   Try to find other, healthier, or low-fat organic alternatives for the ingredients that you typically use.Replace regular bacon with leaner choices such as Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, or lean prosciutto.
   
   Replace lettuce with more nutrient dense greens such as arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens, or kale.
   
   Replace refined grains with whole wheat grains to get more nutrients and fiber. , A visual list of things you've accomplished on your diet will motivate you and inspire you to strive to continue it.
   
   Create a list of goals, and check off your goals as you accomplish them.
   
   The satisfaction you'll get from making progress can motivate you to continue making good dietary decisions., When you eat out, you can't always control the quality or ingredients that are used in the food.
   
   The food could be packed with unhealthy ingredients that go against the diet that you have.
   
   Instead, try cooking at home more often.
   
   This allows you to control the ingredients and use things that adhere to your diet.
   
   It'll also remove the temptation of ordering something unhealthy off of a menu.If you do eat out, choose a restaurant that is aimed towards diet healthy eating.
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   Step 3: Replace sugary drinks with water and other non-sweet drinks.

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   Step 4: Swap out unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones.

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   Step 5: Maintain a checklist of your achievements.

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   Step 6: Stop eating out.

Detailed Guide

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