Being busy and dieting is often an impossible relationship. It seems that those people that actually succeed at dieting are people that have time to calorie count, shop for the healthiest foods, and consistently research the latest trend diets. None of these things are actually realistic for the person constantly on the go. In fact, if you have a busy schedule or are responsible for taking care of your family, you are lucky to eat anything at a normal meal time. Fortunately, there are ways you can eat healthier and not waste hours and hours planning your meals.
Choose healthier alternatives
You might not have the time to go over every food choice and compare calories and fat contents, but you can make quick and healthier food alternative choices. When you are grocery shopping, for example, always choose the lower calorie count or the product that advertises its natural ingredients. Switch out pop and high sugar content drinks with water. Purchase fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth rather than sweets from the bakery. Choose your South Beach food based on its contents, not its price or name. Making these minor changes will improve your diet and will result in a healthier eating change.
Eat a lot of chicken
In 2015, the U.S. consumed 90.1 pounds of chicken per capita. Chicken is an extremely popular meat in the United States. It goes with almost anything and can be cooked in many different ways, making it so you never have to get tired of it. Chicken, although it does contain some fat, is not as fatty as other meats. Try changing out your normal meat options for variations of chicken. Eat a chicken salad for lunch to get your protein in a healthier way. Purchase South Beach food options with chicken for a twist to traditional chicken meals. Serve chicken when entertaining. Americans purchase 700 million pounds of chicken in the week leading up to July 4th, making it a widely accepted and enjoyed type of meat.
Avoid high calorie drinks
Some people eat healthier and are still unable to lose weight. If this is a problem that you are currently experiencing, consider your drink intake. Drinks such as heavy coffees pops, and alcoholic drinks often contain a lot of calories. You could eat extremely healthy throughout the day and then ruin your healthy eating with a high calorie drink each evening. Try to increase your water intake. Replacing high calorie drinks with water is your best option. However, if you still want to enjoy a drink now and then, choose something that is mixed with water.
Avoid high volume restaurants
Regardless of where you live, there are likely hundreds of restaurants to choose from. For example, if you live in the South Beach area, you have numerous South Beach food places to choose from. In 2014, there were actually 39,325 eating and drinking place locations in Florida. Eating healthier does not mean that you have to give up your South Beach catering and your favorite Latin restaurant. If you do your research ahead of time and know which restaurants have healthy alternatives, you can still enjoy eating out, without the added calories. Avoid restaurants that have all you can eat buffets or serve high volume filled plates of food.
Moving to a healthier diet does not mean that you have to give up the foods you enjoy or eating out at local restaurants. It also does not mean that you have to spend hours before every meal researching the calories and ingredients. Making minimal changes when grocery shopping, switching to a primarily chicken diet and avoiding restaurants that serve large amounts of food can be helpful to a healthier diet. Following the south beach food plan, you can transition into healthier eating, without making too many changes to your life.
