Trying to find the balance between eating healthy foods and obsessing over what you’re putting in your body can be tough. Tracking you foods is recommended by many health experts, for example, and can work for many people. That being said, if you’re the kind of person who obsesses over every calorie or macronutrient, you will likely be better off if you stick to an intuitive style of eating and stay away from those tracking apps altogether. You can eat healthily without obsessing, but you need to make sure you listen to your body carefully and that balance is your ultimate aim. Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to eat healthily without obsessing.
1. Realize Your Worth
Start by realizing your worth. You are so much more than a number on the scale, and worth so much more than what your body looks like. Although it can feel like it’s super important to look a certain way, it’s not. Stop spending time with people or following people who make you feel less than worthy exactly as you are.
2. Aim For Balance
Enjoy your favorite foods in moderation. Aim for balance on your plate - half vegetables, a quarter carb and quarter protein with some fat thrown in is a good start, like some cheese slices (or no fat if you used a fair amount of oil to cook the dish). Do not think that you have to eat ‘clean’ to be healthy. Healthy enough is fine! The way you eat must be sustainable if you’re going to develop a healthy relationship with food and your body. If you can’t see yourself eating the way you are now in the future, then something likely needs to change.
3. Find Delicious, Healthy Meal Recipes You Love To Cook And Eat
Make sure you have a number of delicious, healthy meal recipes you love to cook and eat, like this ratatouille recipe from TheMediterraneanDish.com. It doesn’t matter that you’re only cooking for one (if you are) - you’re still worth a delicious, home cooked meal with a ton of love poured into it.
4. Eat For Health, Not For A Body Type or Weight
When you eat, don’t think about your weight or body type. Think about your health. Is the meal in front of you designed for health? Will it make you feel great, and perform well? If so, enjoy! If you’re eating a sad salad because you think it will make you happier with your body, think again.
5. Stop Feeling Guilty When You Indulge
If you deny yourself something you really want to eat, like that delicious slice of cake your mother has offered you, then you will likely end up giving in to a whole cake later on. Allowing yourself the slice of cake and eating it without guilt and then going back to normal without feeling like ‘everything is ruined’ or you have ‘fallen off the wagon’ is a sign of a healthy attitude towards your diet and food choices.