8 Ways To Start A Healthier Diet ASAP, According To A Nutritionist

As a registered dietitian, people ask me all the time what to do to be healthy. Since I started practicing 20 years ago, I've seen all kinds of diet trends and patterns—some good, some bad—but most healthy habits remain the same. So when I teamed up with Women's Health to write The Women's Health Big Book Of Smoothies & Soups, we decided to join forces and give you our very best eat-right advice. Read on for our top tips—all backed by real research—for optimizing health. Even better, they're completely realistic, so you'll actually be able to stick with them and feel great every day.
 
Nearly all experts stress the importance of eating frequently to keep your metabolism and energy up and to avoid becoming so ravenous that you overeat when you finally do sit down to a meal. The "three meals plus two snacks a day" approach appears to be the best one for weight loss and weight maintenance. In a study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers found that people who were at a healthy weight and those who had lost weight both regularly ate two snacks a day.

Probably the biggest benefit of eating often comes from the effect it has on blood sugar (glucose) levels and, therefore, insulin production. When glucose and insulin are in balance, your appetite is on an even keel. That not only helps reduce hunger but also simply makes you feel better. I know from personal experience that having small meals throughout the day (instead of three squares) keeps me energized. Some experts think that eating at regular intervals leads to less fat storage, too, because your body learns to recognize that food will be available relatively soon. And psychologically, knowing that your next meal isn't far away helps you cope with the biggest fear of people trying to lose weight: the fear of being hungry.

Carbs are not evil. They're essential fuel, and they're your body's preferred energy source. On top of that, foods that are classified as mostly carbs—whole grains, fruits, vegetables—come packed with vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that are important for disease prevention. They can also be high in fiber, which helps keep you feeling full and satisfied.

However, when you eat carbs by themselves, your body converts them into glucose faster than it would if you were eating something that slowed digestion (such as protein or fat) at the same time. An elevated glucose level causes a spike in insulin, which leads to a crash in blood sugar, which then results in extreme hunger.

When you do choose carbs, make them complex carbs whenever possible. That means whole grains instead of white refined ones for bread, pasta, and rice. That's because refined carbs, like white flour and sugar, are chemically closer to glucose, and therefore they break down quickly.

According to a survey from the International Food Information Council, just 20 percent of people think that all fats are equal when it comes to health, but 67 percent try to cut as far back on all fats as they can. That's a mistake, because how much fat you eat doesn't really have an impact on your weight or your risk for disease. It's the type of fat and the total calories you take in that really matter.

There are four general categories of fat: polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, saturated, and trans. With the exception of trans fat (which should be avoided, period), your body needs all of them. Fat is a major component of every cell in your body. It helps you absorb fat-soluble nutrients from low-fat foods, keeps your skin and hair healthy, and makes your brain work more efficiently. Some types of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats also protect against disease and control inflammation. Saturated fat raises cholesterol levels and also increases your odds of developing insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), but you still need some of it in your diet. Cholesterol, which is primarily made from saturated fat, is an important building block for hormones.

Here's another important point to keep in mind: Fat makes food taste good. On the one hand, that can cause you to overeat, but on the other, it can help you eat more vegetables and other healthy foods that you should be getting in your diet. I'm pretty sure that even the most strident vegetable lover would admit that a little olive oil, Parmesan cheese, toasted nuts, or even—wait for it—butter on top of steamed asparagus likely makes the asparagus more flavorful.


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