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20 Quick Eating Tips for a Better, Healthier Diet

Dieting is not the answer; better, healthier eating is. Follow these quick tips, along with exercising, and you will feel better, healthier, more fit.

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Eating healthier -- and wiser -- is a lifestyle choice much more than a diet.

Dieting is one of those things that lots of people think they should do, many start, but few ever succeed. Sometimes it's the diet itself (ineffective). Sometimes it's the goal (too ambitious). Sometimes it's just life that gets in the way of good intentions.

What can you do if you want to lose a few (or more) pounds, but don't really want to feel as though you're on a diet?

Here are 20 quick eating tips for a better and healthier diet. Follow these tips, along with regular exercising, and you should see improvements and feel better, healthier -- and more fit.

Drink water with all your meals.
Get rid of all the bad stuff in your pantry, including all sugars and white flour.
Pass on the potatoes and replace them with extra vegetables.
Request or put dressings and sauces on the side -- and then use them lightly.
Cut as much fried food from your diet as possible.
Substitute a bad sugary snack with a sweet fruit.
Eat smaller portions -- and/or skip the appetizer and fatty sides.
Cut out as much soda, fruit drinks, exercise drinks, and energy drinks as possible.
Treat yourself with something sinfully good -- but only on occasion.
Switch from white bread to whole wheat -- and then eat a little less of it.
Cut back on prepackaged (junk) foods -- such as cookies, cracker, chips, and the like -- as much as possible.
If not allergic, add more nuts to your diet.
Don't eat anything within three hours of going to bed.
Always have something for breakfast -- but make it healthy.
Limit your consumption of alcohol.
Eat more fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
Push the salt shaker so that it's out of your reach -- and then use it sparingly.
Eat more slowly -- and take smaller bites when you eat.
Cut back on eating meats -- and strive for leaner cuts of meat when you do eat it.
Eat more fish.

Final Thoughts
You can choose to eat healthier without being on a diet. Don't think diet because when people do that, it always seems like a punishment just waiting to be over -- and an easy excuse for ending it. A lifestyle choice is one of making small and gradual changes that eventually just become part of how you live your life.

Remember too, no matter what you eat, if you live a sedentary life, you'll likely gain weight, be out of shape, and have increased risk of hypokinetic diseases

Also, don't forget that the best road to wellness and a healthier life includes not only healthier eating, but also a daily commitment to exercise and fitness. (See our Empowering Fitness and Exercises Resources.

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Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., is an avid bicyclist, environmentalist, and student of wellness with a mission of empowering others to lead great lives. He is CEO of EmpoweringSites.com, a network of Websites with varying missions of empowering people. He is the founder and caretaker of EmpoweringRetreat.com. He is also founder of Quintessential Careers, and founding partner of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He's often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.