While the majority of Americans don’t follow a healthy diet or lifestyle, there are also signs that this is changing. Simple things like healthy menu choices and more exercise can improve health, wellbeing and productivity. Low carb meals are a good way to get all the nutrition your body needs, without loading up on harmful substances like sugar, flour and highly processed diet. This can be an easy transition, which will show results very quickly.
Switching to healthy eating
It’s no secret that the majority of Americans don’t follow a healthy lifestyle. As of 2015, studies have found that more than two-thirds could be classified as overweight or obese. Other studies from 2016 found that nearly all or 97.3% did not have a healthy lifestyle. As many as 80% of adults don’t include the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables in their diet. The numbers are grim, but there are signs that things may be changing.
This is partly due to a generational shift, as millennials begin to make their lifestyle choices known. Over two-thirds or 67% of people in this demographic group say that they prefer healthy choices when eating out. And a study conducted in 2016 found that as many as 80% of all adults prefer to eat at restaurants with healthy food options on the menu. One way to eat healthier is to stick to healthy food recipes like low carb meals.
What are low carb meals?
Low carb meals do away with harmful foods like sugar, sodas, bread, flour and highly processed foods that fill you up without providing nutritional value. Instead these easy healthy meals are mostly made up of proteins as well as fruit and vegetables. They can help in transitioning to a healthy lifestyle, with better overall health and more energy. They can also help in weight loss.
It’s easy to switch to low carb meals with plenty of choices for healthy and quick meals. Some foods to include in low carb meals are meats like beef, lamb, chicken and pork, fish, eggs, butter and dairy products, olive oil, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, blueberries and other fruit, olives, nuts and fresh vegetables. You can have a lot of fun planning creative menus with prepared meals that will keep you on the go all day.
Some healthy lunch ideas and easy dinners
Not only will you feel better when you switch to low carb meals, you will have a lot more fun planning healthy menus and snacks. One useful tip when shopping for healthy foods is to stick to the perimeters of the grocery store. That’s where the meats, fish, dairy and fresh vegetables and fruit are kept, while heavily processed foods are found in the center aisles.
Healthy low carb meals can be made up of choices like meatballs or salmon with vegetables, grilled chicken with spinach, shrimp salad, omelets and pork chops. Burgers without the bun are another healthy choice. For snacks, you can go with fruit, yogurt, nuts, hard boiled eggs and carrots. These are easy to tote around in baggies or plastic boxes for whenever you feel hungry. For some occasional carbs, you can pick potatoes, sweet potatoes, grains like quinoa, oats and brown rice, and legumes.
Low carb meals can be part of a switch to a healthier lifestyle, along with exercise and enough sleep. You can make the transition slowly, and find that you have much more energy and focus as you move along this path. And best of all, with healthy low carb food choices, you don’t have to miss out on delicious food.
