Many people think that eating healthy needs some kind of special sacrifice or willpower. I understand many people have this thought because of some crash diet that they saw on the internet. But as a doctor let me tell you that almost 99% of the diets that your fitness influencers are recommending are unnecessary and unsustainable. Anything unsustainable will not be beneficial for you in the long run. 

Why do I think it is non-sustainable? Well, because I have tried those too. Back when I just started med school, I was large for my age and I tried various diets that helped me lose weight. But the problem? For starters, I felt like shit while following those diets, and I immediately gained all that lost weight back when I stopped the diet and started eating normally like before.

As I studied further in med school, I came to know that many of the diets that are available online don’t factor in any scientific evidence and only concentrate on calories to lose weight. Calorie reduction is essential to lose weight but to eat healthy, you need more than just calorie calculation. Let me tell you a few things about eating healthy and also love it while doing it so you do it all your life. 

1. 1. Keep it simple 

Never forget this. Simple is often overlooked by many because people believe that there is some magic food that is available to help them lose weight and stay healthy. Spoiler alert “There isn’t one”. Everyday foods that we normally eat like bread, rice, chicken, fish, eggs, veggies, and dairy products are the necessary foods for you to lose some weight and stay healthy. If you are wondering where are those smoothies and salads that you have been expecting. I have good news for you. Grinding green veggies/spinach every morning and drinking it on an empty stomach does nothing to your body compared to just eating those throughout the day. If you are already eating all those and you are wondering why aren’t you losing any weight, let me introduce you to your lifetime partner from now on – “portion size”.  

2. 2. Portion size 

Everything boils down to this. If you eat more than you can metabolise and utilise for energy, the excess will get stored as fat. Simple. How to find out how much you need to eat per day? 

Click on this link 🔗 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calorie-calculator/itt-20402304  to find out your calorie requirements per day. Now comes the real challenge. How do you find out the calories in every single thing that you eat?? Well the good news is, you don’t have to do it for long. Only once or twice you might need to look up on the package or the internet about your food’s calories and after that, you will remember the approximate value every time you eat. you don’t need to calculate every single calorie unless you are competing in some body-building competition. 

3. 3. Macros 

Every meal that you consume must contain few macronutrients as well as some micronutrients to become healthy. 

Macro nutrients include carbohydrates proteins and fats. Micronutrients means essential vitamins, minerals, fibres etc. 

So how to make sure you are consuming all these?? Thankfully you do not need to work hard to calculate macros and micros in every meal you eat. A homemade Chicken sandwich with veggies of your choice will most probably cover all these requirements if eaten in controlled portion size. 

Homemade Chicken sandwich decoded :

Carbohydrates                     – whole bread      

Protein                                  – chicken 

Fat                                         – slice of cheese 

Vitamins, minerals, fibres    – lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber etc. 

Why homemade? Because store bought sandwiches contain unusually high amounts of fats and sodium to make it taste better and this can lead to weight gain and it is not at all healthy. 

Check out my other articles to know more about nutrition. 

4. 4. consistency

As with everything else that you do in your life, only consistency can help you attain your desired health. just to be clear, there is no overnight wonder. Every little thing that gives you meaning and happiness in your life will require a constant effort and health is no exception. It’s not possible to eat healthy every single day due to various commitments and social gatherings that we have as humans. But for the majority of days, when there aren’t any special occasions, these healthy eating habits can help you lose weight and can drastically improve your overall health.