Our hectic modern lives have various downsides, some of which are not even obvious for a long time.
The fact that we’re exposed to unhealthy habits and lured by them regularly is one of the most problematic factors in this regard, but at the same time, it also gets ignored quite often.
Some people just give up early on and claim that they simply can’t fit any sort of healthy habits into their schedules. Others try to compensate by spending extra money or even hiring help.
But you don’t have to go that far – and you certainly don’t have to sacrifice your health and wellbeing just because you’re constantly on the go.
Here are some ways you can still maintain a healthy eating schedule without compromising your daily performance.
Meal Prep Is Key
If there’s one thing all (or at least most) people who eat healthy on a regular basis have in common, it’s that they pay extra attention to their meal prep habits.
There’s a lot you can do to keep things more organized and predictable. Do your shopping in large batches whenever possible and look for attractive discounts.
Plan your meals for a certain period ahead. Some people take this all the way and plan everything, from morning to evening, for weeks into the future.
For some families, it’s not an exaggeration that you can ask what you’ll be eating for lunch next Wednesday and be given an exact answer.
Plan Your Shopping Trips Carefully
Extending on the above, you should also plan your shopping trips as carefully as possible. If you have a good meal prep plan, your shopping lists will practically build themselves.
You’ll know exactly what you need for the given week, and where to get it. The only thing left to consider is where you can get the best deal on a given product on a specific day.
If you’re trying to be careful about spending too much, this might take some extra effort and you may have to be a bit more dynamic, adapting your plans regularly. It won’t take too long to get into the groove of doing it though.
Prioritise Foods Dense in Nutrients
When you have to choose, and you don’t have a lot of time to get some food in you, the best thing you can do is to focus on foods that are dense in nutrients.
Lentils, fruits, vegetables, whole grains – there is a whole range of options to pick from.
You might be surprised how much more you could be if you’ve never paid any attention to that part of your diet before.
And it doesn’t take a lot of effort to ensure that your meals are consistent in this regard.
Keep Something Ready for When You’re on the Move
No matter how meticulous you may be about your planning, you can’t anticipate everything about your daily life.
You have to be prepared for situations where you have serious cravings and nothing reliable in your immediate vicinity to satisfy them.
Carrying some healthy snacks around with you is a great way to address that problem. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of preparing them yourself, companies like EatProtein are a great way to go.
Their delicious protein snacks, food and powders are carefully prepared to ensure that they will help you meet your nutritional requirements without eating anything unnecessary.
At the same time, they are among the more affordable options on the market right now, making them great for the needs of most people.
Fast Food Is Sometimes Okay
Don’t automatically disregard fast-food restaurants. Sure, most things you can buy there are definitely not something you’ll want to include in your diet even just once, but most fast food places also have various healthy options nowadays.
Go through the salads, smoothies, and desserts – you’ll often find various fruit-based offers there.
Of course, don’t expect too much – it’s still a fast food place in the end. But if you have an emergency situation and you have no viable alternatives, this can work in a pinch too.
As long as you don’t make it a habit to visit those places every day, it’s not a problem.
As we said earlier, all of this might take some time to properly solidify in your habits. Don’t let this discourage you, and just keep pushing forward.
Different people benefit from different approaches to speed things up. You might find it useful to keep track of your progress in some written form, for example.
This will allow you to identify situations where you’ve deviated from the norm and it will help you develop a more rigid system that’s also resistant to unexpected developments. It takes time and practice, but you’ll get there eventually.