healthy living motivation to eat healthy and workout

Motivation to Eat Healthy—15 Ways to Start a Nutritional Diet

Finding motivation to eat healthy has become a top priority among all age groups. Often, we see people making many resolutions for weight loss, quitting cigarettes, or becoming a health freak. 

In excitement, they start planning strict routines and rigid rules beyond their capacity. Unfortunately, the tendency to creep back to the older habits and an impulse to satiate food craving derail them from their predefined goals. Keeping track of a healthy life routine calls for utmost patience, determined efforts, and an optimistic mindset. 

For maintaining the integrity of these resolutions, Motivation plays a crucial role in moving the needles and keeping one clinging to their set of rules. 

Here are some of the best ways to keep your motivation sky high round the clock so that when multiple options appear on the table, you always choose a nutritious platter over the lavish ones.

1. Garner the Reasons for Healthy Diet

‘Always bear in mind that your resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.’

– Abraham Lincoln

It all starts with the interrogative word ‘why’? Instead of setting vague goals, find out why you want to switch to this healthy diet schedule. Contemplate what will this healthy diet serve you.

For instance, will it aid you in weight loss, treat any digestive ailment, or help you attain the ideal physique you always dreamt about? The reason should be assertive and substantial enough to follow through with it. 

  • Pen down the reasons on a sticker and stick it at your kitchen cabinet, working desk, or dressing mirror so that you can remind yourself about the motive every single day.
  • Create mental pictures of the expected results before sleeping and right after waking up to reprogram your brain. 

2. Preplan Your Meal Chart

“If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.

– Buddha

Before determining your meal schedule, educate yourself about the nutritional and nourishing superfoods—research about the anti-oxidant, detoxifying, and anti-inflammatory foods that are worth including in everyday meals. 

Start your day with high-protein breakfast or brunch. It’s reported that when people consume a high-protein breakfast, they feel more satiated for the day long.

  • Finding motivation to eat healthy can increase greatly if you take the help of meal planner apps, and decide the menu for the entire week for better time blocking.
  • Pen down what meal you are going to have for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Also, mention a short note about what snacks you will have in case of sudden mid-meal hunger.
  • You can leave the weekend section empty to surprise yourself with a new recipe.

3. Maintain a Sophisticated Food Journal

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”

— Tom Landry

Start your journey by maintaining a food journal mentioning what you eat, and drink every day. Analyze if you are consuming too much high-calorie, processed or fatty items. Evaluate the foodstuffs you need to ditch

Adequate progress in the journal will not only gratify you but will also inspire you to adhere to your plan.

  • Map out your meal plan in advance, like what you will include or exclude. You can also take assistance from a dietitian or meal planner apps. 
  • Log everything in the journal about what you consumed, including a mere nibbling on the pastry. It will remind you of the extra calories you are binging on.
  • Track your progress on a weekly or monthly basis, and don’t forget to give yourself a small reward on seeing a positive graph.

4. Explore Some New but Healthy Recipes

“Men of action are favored by the goddess of good luck.”

– George S. Clason

It’s an undeniable fact that our emotions are very much connected with the taste of the food. Eating the same food with the same flavors every day can bore you and fade your interest in healthy food eventually. 

To break the lame-tasting platter, you can browse some exciting recipes on youtube, tiktok, pinterest or food magazines that prioritize whole-grain ingredients over the processed ones. As an experiment, you can also give other cuisine dishes a random try. After all, healthy ingredients and delicious recipes can always go hand in hand.

5. Let Your Inner Child Have One Cheat Day

“Peace is letting it be. Letting life flow, letting emotions flow through you.

– Kamal Ravikant

It’s perfectly normal to allow one or two cheat days in a month. According to research, depriving your favorite snacks may also lead to heightened food cravings and overeating.

So, allow one day in a month to relish your favorite meal, but again moderation is the key. Pre-decide what specific food you are going to have along with its quantity. Otherwise, a random over-the-calorie menu or a sudden burst of unhealthy craving will ruin your progress so far. 

6. Pre-Decide Your Grocery List

Rather than making an impulse purchase, pre-determine the grocery list. This grocery list will help you decide better without tempting you into buying everything and anything on the counter. 

If you have to bring any junk food for your family, ask them to hide it somewhere out of your sight and reach. Always do a short research before preparing a list.

You have to pick whole grain or at least half grain products like whole-grain bread, whole-grain flour, and brown rice. Cut out all the refined or processed products from your catalog. 

Also, school yourself about the number of macros you should be eating everyday to maintain or loose weight. Make sure you get your protein in.

7. Keep Healthy Munch on Hand

Random hunger pangs, and food cravings are one of the major roadblocks of our nutrition goals. 

We often crave unhealthy food when we are deprived or restricted from our favorite (unhealthy) meal. These sudden cravings can ruin your entire disciplined diet plan. 

To overcome these random unhealthy strikes: 

  • Firstly, discard all the processed food items from your refrigerator. 
  • Replenish them with ready-to-eat nutritious snacks like almonds, peanuts, kale chips, fruits, yogurt, or other gluten-free and high-protein snacks. 

This will ensure random but healthy kibbles throughout the day. So, whenever sudden food cravings kick in during the ungodly hours of the day, you can munch on a handful of these snacks. Motivation to eat healthy can come from seeing all the groceries you’ve already done. Don’t make it go to waste.

8. Lay Out Some Money

Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans.

– Peter F. Drucker

It is human nature to undervalue things that cost us nothing. However, when we start paying for those same things, we start to appreciate and like them more. 

So, spending some penny can make you more dedicated and committed to your goals. Be it a gym class, dietitian fees, or extra expenditure on healthy foodstuff, invest some money to make yourself more committed to your purposes, and it will surely return the favor in bounty.

9. Bring it into Your Habit.

“And once you understand that habits can change, you have the freedom and the responsibility to remake them.

-Charles Duhigg

Have you ever heard about the 21 days habit-forming theory? New studies suggest it might as well take 66 days or sometimes even more (200+ days) to form a healthy habit. 

Irrespective of how many days it takes, doing the same things repeatedly in one direction rewires your brain. So, once you have begun your diet, the repetitive behavior of eating a specified food (with unique recipes) every day will soon turn into a habit. 

However, the process asks for patience, consistency, and commitment for a specified span. Stick to your plan with persistence and with the motive of forming new, healthy life decisions.

  • To build the habit of a healthy diet, commit to continuing it for at least 30 days. You can label the initial starting date following the coming 30 days on the calendar to remind yourself of the schedule. 

10. Revise Your Goals

“Drop by drop is the water pot filled.

-Buddha

Over time, it is normal to feel lethargic and uninterested in your diet schedule. To ginger up yourself, revise your goals, and recall why you initially began this journey. You can take the help of boards or sticky notes as well. 

Map out every detail of your goal on these items, and fix it where you can see it more often.

  • Maintain a scrapbook or journal narrating your list of goals—whether you want to have an attractive physique or want to see considerable weight loss on your scale. 
  • Once you start noticing a gradual haul from your track, read them as a brush-up.

11.  Pair Healthy Diet with Exercising

‘It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.’

– Seneca

According to a study published, when you start exercising and dieting together, the positive results are more remarkable in combined intervention. Also, the chances of derailing from the track are less comparatively. Therefore, regular exercise in addition to a healthy diet is a real game-changer. 

  • You can try aerobics, and anaerobic exercises, running, or even yoga. 
  • Options like Zumba classes or a gym are more feasible if you fear going off track in the future. 

    If you’re struggling coming up with a routine try something less intense like yoga. We have an article on establishing a morning yoga routine here.

12. Don’t Let the Trip Become a Barrier.

“Being challenged in life is inevitable; being defeated is optional.

– Roger Crawford

Whether it is a business meeting, long trip, or just an outing, traveling can sway you from your routine. So, to be on the safe side, prepare things beforehand. 

Research online about all the nearby good restaurants that offer healthy menus. Also, check for some supermarkets so that you can buy some fresh and wholesome meals instead of sneaking on some unhealthy treats.

  • Pack some nutritious food or snacks that would not rot quickly. 
  • Dried fruits and nuts always come in handy during travel for keeping one adhere to their healthy diet routine. 

13. Consistent Learning is the Key

“Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience.

-Denis Waitley

One of the best ways to find motivation to eat healthy and keep that thought heightened is by schooling them about its long-term benefits. Keep checking new research papers or magazines to get awareness about the health-benefits of having superfoods or other anti-inflammatory foods. 

Also, keep an eye on current health-related issues like why more people are switching to a plant-based diet or vegan diets. Moreover, checking on your favorite celebrity’s strict diet plans will also foster you to continue on your path.

14. Connect with People with Similar Goals

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

-Helen Keller

Pooling with the person who has similar goals as you will twofold the beneficial effects and help you find motivation to eat healthy. Just buddy up with the right person and plan your goals together. Hold your partner accountable for keeping you sticking to the schedule. 

Mutual collaboration on the same goal is less likely to hinder you away from your purpose. 

  • Take follow-ups for discussing your views, ideas, or amendments that need to be made in routine. 
  • You can also share healthy recipes with each other or even try them together as a fun activity.

15. Don’t let Setbacks Hinder your Progress.

“Don’t let a setback give you an excuse to sit back. Pick yourself up and continue to move forward

Dr. K L Register.

It can be tough finding motivation to eat healthy after you messed up a couple times then end up throwing the whole day away. Mistakes are an integral part of the learning process, but don’t let them roadblock your goal. According to the study, guilt or sadness can lead the person to overindulge in sugar-rich food. 

So, if you could not restrain your urge and consequently consumed extra calories, instead of beating yourself, learn to forgive yourself.  It’s okay to feel setbacks in the path but learning from the past mistakes makes one stand out. 

  • Please, give yourself a new start with a fresh vow; it is never too late to start again. 
  • Contemplate what you will do if a similar situation pops up again and how you will deal with it.

16. Pat on the Back

“Sometimes you deserve a pat on the back, even if you have to do it yourself.”

– Frank Sonnen

Instead of jumping directly to the bigger goals, break down your target into micro-levels. Finding motivation to eat healthy can be easier when your ultimate goal doesn’t seem out of reach. Once you successfully attain one of the peaks, reward yourself with a small treat. 

After all, small or big, every milestone deserves applause. These small achievements will further prompt you to try harder for your aim. Make sure that the treats are not related to the food. It can be any fun activity like going for short hiking, or shopping, taking a spa, or massage therapy in your favorite salon so that it can rejuvenate your body and aura. 

17. Practice Mindfulness While Eating

“The feeling that any task is a nuisance will soon disappear if it is done in mindfulness.

– Unknown

Mindfulness refers to the state of staying in the present moment rather than living in your head. According to a survey, when a group of obese and overweight women was asked to practice mindful eating, their results were startling, and their binging was reduced to a great extent. 

Staying mindful while eating sets a positive tone with the food you eat. Moreover, when you eat slowly while savoring every bite, it lowers the binging habit, food cravings and also improves digestion significantly. 

Apart from its positive effect on eating habits, practising mindfulness also develops rational thinking and suppresses the impulsive response.

18. Optimism is the Winning Streak

“Keep your face always towards the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.

– Walt Whitman

Becoming an example of a health freak requires strenuous efforts. There is no corner-cutting to reach your destination, especially when you are working towards weight loss or attaining a good physique. 

The journey can be time-taking, monotonous, sluggish, or even upsetting, but don’t let them become the barrier to your goal. Despite all the hassles, you must trust the process and keep your optimism high around the clock. 

  • Practice making the mental images of the outcome you desire will make motivation to eat healthier easier.
  • When the feeling of anger and quitting arises, call your friend or family member who can uplift you or at least change your mood. 
  • Pen down whatever you are feeling to work through it, and you might share it with others as an inspirational story.

Bottom Line 

Everyone tries their best to stick to their rules of nutritious diet, but for the long run, you will need to stay motivated every single day. It is not easy to commit to the rigid rules you have set for yourself, nor is it impossible to adhere to them. Finding motivation to eat healthy doesn’t just come from a sudden boost of energy, you have to discipline yourself to actually follow through with it.

As a short recap, remember to break your enormous goal into small fragments, keep regular track of your progress, preplan the things before leaving for the trip, supermarket, or restaurants and reward yourself for the small accomplishments. 

Also, tread lightly with your emotions, and feel compassionate for your inner child, as the journey asks for utmost patience and consistency. 

Cherish your slightest effort every single day, and don’t forget to love yourself while being engrossed in this venture.

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