How to Make Healthy Food Choices All the Time!
By Sara Butler
It’s a well-documented phenomenon that when you don’t get enough sleep or you’re tired, you tend to make poor food choices. Most anyone can tell you that even those with the best intentions find it difficult to eat healthy all the time. Being tired messes with the hormones that control hunger, hormones that help you feel full. That can make your junk food cravings rise and make it harder to resist the siren song of that bag of Cheetos.
While it may be more difficult to make good food choices when you’re tired, it’s not impossible. Here are a few tips to help you get started!
Make a Snack Stash
When you’re well rested and motivated, go ahead and create a snack stash for yourself that’s full of healthy options. Having this on hand can help to curb your temptation to cave to a food that lacks any real nutritional value.
Try keeping these snacks on hand in your pantry:
- Popcorn
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Jerky
- Roasted chickpeas
These foods can help to keep your blood sugar stable, which helps you avoid an inevitable crash when you have too many refined carbs -- because that’ll just make you even more tired once the sugar high has ended.
Make Extra
When you cook something, make more than you know you’ll eat and put the leftovers in the freezer. Many foods, if stored correctly, can last for a few months in the freezer. Having a freezer dinner stash on hand will help you out in a pinch -- just defrost and enjoy on the nights you just can’t even bear to prepare something.
Plan Indulgences
No man (or woman) is a health food island. You’re going to have cravings for things that aren’t that great for you and the best advice is to go ahead and have them -- within reason! Plan out when you’re going to have what you’ve been craving so you can control it. If you have a nightly craving for chocolate, then keep a couple of individually wrapped chocolates on hand to have. That will help you satisfy your craving without going nuts and binging on something that really isn’t that great for you (like added sugar!).
Find Good Substitutes
When you want something full of refined carbs after a long night, you can try to opt instead for a healthier version of what you’re craving. Think Greek yogurt with fruit instead of ice cream, a chocolate protein bar instead of a candy bar -- you get the idea. You can still enjoy the textures and flavors you want, but it’ll be just a bit healthier!
Making good food choices is always possible if you can plan ahead!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in South Jordan, Utah.