Many young women wonder how to eat correctly. There is no one and only correct answer. Everything can be consumed in moderation, and you should not be too harsh on yourself.
The best, safest and the most efficient way to eat in the long term is a varied, healthy diet with no absolute prohibitions or limitations. Be merciful to yourself and aim towards durable lifestyle changes, instead of just reaping quick benefits.
Do quick diets work?
You must have read about the pH diet, dieting pills, blood type diet, cabbage soup diet and millions of other similar dieting trends. Every spring and new year, different and more and more weird diets emerge to get you in shape for the summer or to lose the holiday kilos. These diets have, in common, the quick results they promise. Real life, unfortunately, obeys the rule, ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is’.
Sometimes eating starts to control life. Eating is taken to the extreme, either by omitting an important nutrient or by eating ‘too healthily’. This can lead to eating disorders.
Lifestyle changes
The trick for actual results are smart lifestyle changes. You have to take into account sleep, exercise, stress management, your way to manage emotions and, naturally, also your diet. This is a time-consuming process. One could say that learning habits that contribute to well-being, health and durable weight management is not a sprint, but a marathon, or an ultramarathon. There are no shortcuts to the finish line. If there is something in your lifestyle that requires changing, the changes should be done slowly and by small steps. This leaves time for both the mind and the body to adapt to the changes.
Too strict diet
A person following a too strict diet narrows down the eating options by removing certain foods or nutrients. The goal is usually to lose weight, to obtain a highly trimmed body or optimal health. Food and eating cease to be enjoyable, and instead they become a nuisance, when the person has to think about eating and suitable foods all the time.
It is not necessarily dangerous to follow a strict diet, if you are well familiar with nutrition and can compile versatile and sufficient meals, despite the limitations. Read more about strict diet >>
Foundation for healthy diet, TOP 5
1. Eat regularly and sufficiently. It is okay to feel hungry, but not too much. After dinner, it would be good to feel comfortably full.
2. Eat in peace and tranquillity. Chew properly and concentrate on enjoying the tastes and scents of the food.
3. Vegetables, fruit and/or berries should be a part of every meal.
4. Prefer smart sources of energy, such as oils, seeds, nuts, fish, chicken, dairy, legumes, root vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes and wholegrains.
5. Be permissive and flexible – no food is forbidden, and there is also place for goodies and other food items of less nutritional quality in a good diet.
See the dietician’s tips for a gentle diet!
Doctors and specialists for young women at Mehiläinen
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