Food glorious food!  Nothing says celebration more than giant family meals, barbecues, and nice meals out. Gone are the days when you could eat anything and your metabolism would literally work it off in the same moment. Portion control and meal prepping are helpful tactics but sometimes it comes down straight to changing your eating habits.

Remember, food is fuel. Nutrition is an essential part of a healthy life. Food impacts our weight and energy levels, but also our brain and vital organ functions. There is so much to consider when choosing a nutritious diet, but you shouldn’t do it alone. Before you embark on any new lifestyle change consult with your nutritionist or doctor first, but here are a few eating lifestyles to consider.

INTUITIVE EATING

A relatively newer addition to the modern eating plans, intuitive eating is the philosophy that your eating habits should be guided by what signals your body is sending you and at what times, as opposed to the standard “3 meals a day”.  Studies say that paying attention to your body’s natural cycles and needs at differing stages of your day and life will help you eat when you have to as opposed to when you want to.  There is a solid ethos of intuitive eating and it helps you recognize the difference between “hunger eating” and  “emotional eating”.  I found this concept super interesting and you can read more, here.

VEGANISM

As the modern-day mem goes “how do you know when someones a vegan?… They’ll tell you!”  and it’s true to a point because those who have successfully transitioned to this way of eating become passionate followers of the habit.  Vegan diets have been shown to help control weight loss as well as potentially provide protection against type 2 diabetes and some cancers.  But it’s not for everyone, so definitely check with your doctor first.  The vegan diet refers to any food that is formulated without any ingredients derived or obtained from animals and they live solely on plant-based food.

VEGETARIANISM

A hop skip and a jump away from our vegan brothers and sisters, this eating lifestyle choice involves the practice of not eating any meat or fish.  Some vegetarians take it a little further and don’t eat any eggs or gelatine-based foods or products either. Me, I like to consider myself a part-time vegetarian. There is more leeway in this eating habit. As with veganism, a visit to your doctor before trying out this diet is important because you’ll need to know how to get your protein and some other vitamins through supplements and food types.  Far from being a boring way to eat, with some creativity, you could be as creative in the kitchen as you like.  This recipe for stuffed bell peppers are delicious and fully vegetarian.

INTERMITTENT FASTING

While many diets focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting is more concerned with when you eat. This means that you only eat during a certain time, so let’s say you’ve chosen to only eat between the hours of 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, you won’t have any more food from 7:00 PM until 7:00 AM the following morning drinking only water or black tea and coffee.  There are different types of intermittent fasting that are meant to achieve different weight control goals for certain body types so it’s worth it to do some research.  Proponents of the diet say that this type of fasting changes the way that hormones and calls function in your body, regulating things like insulin production and the way your body burns fat.

There’s never a bad time to reassess your health and or fitness goals and a great diet is a basis for all future success. Changing your eating habits can take a lot of self-control, but with the right regiment, you can do it!