How to Ease Into a Healthy Diet

Proper dieting is an excellent way to improve your health when paired with exercise. The goal of healthy dieting is to cut down on unhealthy food choices. For many people, however, adopting a healthy diet can be a struggle and shouldn't be rushed. By taking practical steps, establishing the correct outlook, and having fun with your diet, you can ease into the diet and maintain it over the long run.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Taking Practical Steps

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.
2
Reduce your carbohydrate intake slowly. Decreasing your carb intake can help you lose weight and may also reduce your risk of heart disease.^{[1]XResearch source} 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.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Replace sugar with things like berries or citrus.
- You can cut down on refined grains by using whole wheat products.
3
Replace sugary drinks with water and other non-sweet drinks. 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.^{[3]XResearch source}
- 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.
4
Swap out unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. 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.^{[4]XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world's leading hospitalsGo to source}
- 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.
6
Stop eating out. 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.^{[5]XResearch source}
- If you do eat out, choose a restaurant that is aimed towards diet healthy eating.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using the Right Approach

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Start small. It's hard to change bad habits that you've acquired over an extended period. Take pride in small victories, like cutting out sugar from your coffee in the morning, or eating carrots instead of chips at lunch. Do not go off and try to change your entire lifestyle, because it will be unenjoyable and often unhealthy for you.^{[6]XResearch source} Understand that dieting is a gradual change and doesn't happen overnight.
- An example would be switching from whole milk to skim milk.
- Find healthier alternatives to snacks that you'd eat throughout the day without starving yourself.
2
Be realistic with your goals. It's unrealistic and unhelpful to create unattainable goals for yourself. Set realistic, short-term goals for your diet and work every day towards these goals. Create deadlines for your initial set of goals and work towards achieving them. Instead of aiming to lose 30 pounds in 3 weeks, set a goal to lose 1-2 pounds this week. Once you meet that goal, aim to continue the trend for several months until your ultimate goal of losing 30 pounds is met.
- Make sure your goals are SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, agreed-upon, realistic, and time-based.^{[7]XResearch source}
Substantial reduction in your daily caloric intake could leave you hungry, which could lead to binge eating. Also, a lack of essential nutrients and vitamins like vitamins A, C, and E could cause acne, dry hair and skin, hyperkeratosis, and broken fingernails.^{[8]XResearch source} Be wary of "crash diets" or diets that concentrate on restricting or eliminating your daily intake of calories. These unhealthy diets can weaken your immune system and can result in dehydration, heart palpitations, and cardiac stress.^{[9]XResearch source}
4
Consult a physician before starting a new diet. To get the best advice for starting and maintaining a healthy diet tailored to your individual situation, you should consult your doctor. Talk to them about the diet that you are considering and ask them if any existing medical conditions would make the diet ineffective or unsafe. Ask your doctor for a referral to see a registered dietitian. They can provide you with new tactics or strategies that could help you choose smarter food choices.^{[10]XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world's leading hospitalsGo to source}
- Remember to stay hydrated, get enough sleep, and slowly alter your eating habits to form to your new diet.
5
Analyze and modify your slip-ups. It's easy to want to quit after making a mistake. However, in dieting, this won't result in better health. Instead of getting down on yourself every time you violate your diet, take an objective view of how you messed up, and think of what you can do to prevent yourself from doing it in the future. Don't dwell on making a mistake, and continue to work towards your dieting goals even if you mess up occasionally.^{[11]XResearch source}
- For instance, if you mess up on your diet because you went to a gathering that had cookies and cake, try to stay away from gatherings that have cookies and cake or make sure to fill up on healthy food before attending an event that has unhealthy food.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Dieting Fun

1
Try different recipes and ingredients. Cooking new and unique dishes can become a fun and positive activity. Search online or through cookbooks for healthy new meals that you can try out. It will also make shopping for new and unique ingredients more exciting when you're at the grocery store.
- Some delicious and healthy recipes include lemon garlic shrimp, honey soy grilled salmon, and roasted zucchini flatbread.^{[12]XResearch source}
2
Diet with a family member or friend. Dieting with a friend, family member, or roommate is a great way to keep you motivated and on track. Look for someone that you know has follow-through, and it could be someone who has already adhered to a strict diet. Take a walk and spend time with them. Have them hold you accountable and help you stay on your diet.^{[13]XResearch source}
- When you have someone to talk to about experiences, it can help motivate you towards a positive outcome.
- You can ask by saying something like, "Hey, I know that you have a lot of discipline and follow-through. Do you think you could give me tips to help me stay on this diet? I'm trying to be healthier."
Creating a scrapbook of your achievements and progress can be a motivator for you. If you adhere to your diet and follow healthy and proper guidelines, you should start to see a difference in your appearance over time. This could include losing weight, toning your muscles, or just generally looking happier and healthier. Take a photo once every month so that you can visualize your progress.
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