What’s Missing From Your Diet Plan?
One of the most significant factors that can be an indicator of overall health is your diet. What foods do you consume regularly and how are they affecting your body? The proper diet can set you up for a longer and happier life, allowing your body to maintain strength and fight off diseases. The wrong diet can lead to premature decline, weakness in the bones/muscles, and suboptimal cellular health.
When you analyze your current diet, where are the gaps? Are there entire food groups that you are skipping out on due to personal preference? Do you consume too many sugars and unhealthy fats that are making your body’s cells have to work harder with less nutrition? It is important to be aware of how your diet choices are affecting your body so that you can take action to promote physical wellness.
Every part of your body is affected by the foods you eat, from your teeth and eyes to your skeletal structure. If you feel like your diet is not firing on all cylinders and providing your body with the nutrients it needs, here are a few things that might be missing that would support total body health.
Protein
Protein is a key ingredient that cells require to keep their shape and perform vital functions throughout the body. It can also play a significant role in reducing the feeling of hunger, making it a great resource to prevent overeating. A diet without protein can leave you feeling hungry and weaken some of your systems, particularly the muscles. There are multiple options for increasing your protein intake, including hard-boiled eggs, trail mix, and Greek yogurt. Protein can also help the body burn more fat, so it can benefit those who are looking to attain a certain level of fitness. Think about your current diet and research what sources of protein you regularly consume to see if your cells are receiving enough of this macronutrient.
Fruits and Vegetables
Most people do not eat enough fruits and vegetables throughout the day. Maybe you have an apple with lunch and then a vegetable as a side for dinner, but your body could use more of the nutrients that these foods provide. Fruits and vegetables can deliver vitamin C, folate, potassium, and dietary fiber to the body. These nutrients help promote a healthy gut, reduce the risk of conditions like heart disease and some cancers, and lower your intake of calories. With a diet that contains multiple fruits and vegetables every day, you can avoid gaining weight from additional calories while reaping the benefits of key vitamins and minerals.
Dietary Supplements
The key to a healthy diet is to consume a balance of food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and non-fat dairy. Although food is the most efficient way to deliver vitamins and minerals to your cells, it is not the only way. A healthy diet can be supported with additional nutrients via dietary supplements. These products can boost nutrient levels further and support total body health when paired with an already balanced diet. They come in various forms that are very convenient for consumption, including pills, capsules, gels, drink powder mixes, and gummies.
Meal Planning
One of the most difficult aspects of consuming a balanced diet of healthy foods is consistency. When the schedule gets busy and you feel like there is no time to prepare a good meal, that’s when unhealthy take-out options enter the fray. It feels like there is too much going on in your life to prioritize a healthy lunch and dinner every day. Meal planning can help you overcome this conflict. Essentially, this practice is all about prepping meals for the entire week on the weekend. You spend a good portion of a Saturday or Sunday putting ingredients together and then storing them away in the freezer or refrigerator so that you can quickly grab them and eat them throughout the week. You can pack them up as individual meals or put all the ingredients together for a quick reheat when the need arises. Meal planning makes it easier to go grocery shopping once a week and having a plan for each day, helping you avoid that last-minute scramble that often ends with fast food or takeout in the name of convenience.
Take Charge of Your Dietary Plan
Since the foods you eat have such an impact on your health, it is important to get your diet plan right. Reflect on your current practices and do some research to see if you are missing out on key vitamins and minerals. Or, determine whether or not your eating habits are harming your health. By adopting new practices like increasing your protein intake, consuming more fruits and vegetables, supporting a balanced diet with supplements, and meal planning, you can take charge of your diet plan and support total body health more effectively.