It’s no secret that nutrition plays a significant role in successful weight loss, the problem most of us have is how to get started. Learning how to eat healthy can help you shed excess weight and keep it off, not mention improve your overall health.

{Healthy eating doesn’t just mean munching on salad all day.}

Does this mean you should completely wipe you pantry clean of soda, potato chips and snack cakes? Well it would help to reduce the amount of those foods in your pantry, but learning how to get started with healthy eating is all about pacing yourself. Keep reading to find out more.

Add Fruit

If you don’t normally eat fruit then don’t buy pounds a fruit so you can ‘pretend’ to eat healthy. Start with a few pieces of fruit, that you know you’ll eat, and find a way to add them to your day. Grab a bunch of bananas and eat one with your breakfast each day, or bring an apple to work with you for a mid-afternoon snack.

Adding a few pieces of fruit to your diet each day is a great way to get started on healthy eating, and because fruit is so sweet it’s an easy and tasty place to start.

If you need a reason other than weight loss to start eating healthy, how about the many health benefits associated with healthy eating? According to a 2010 study, there is an intrinsic link between fruit consumption and weight loss. That is that if people believe eating fruit provides more for them than it takes from them, they will eat more fruit.

So next time you think about skipping the produce aisle at the supermarket think of the fact that improved bone and heart health, reduced stroke and a decrease in cancer risk are all associated with increased fruit consumption.

If you need more reasons check out the nutrition facts for mango and apples.

Bring Your Own Lunch

Healthy eating starts with limiting your opportunities to make unhealthy food choices. The best place for you to start is by bringing your own lunch. This way you don’t have to choose between high calorie fast food options or vending machine food. When you bring your own lunch you can make the decision—ahead of time—to eat healthy.

With a little planning healthy eating is something you can do without much thought. Whether you choose to pack a sandwich and salad or last night’s low calorie leftovers, when you bring your own lunch you’re deciding how healthy you eat not some teenager in a polyester uniform!

Another good thing about bringing your own lunch is that you can control portion sizes, which is essential to healthy eating and successful weight loss. When you choose fast food or even a sit down restaurant, your portion size is at the mercy of the cook. According to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, the increase in portion sizes over the years means you could be eating an extra 50 to 150 calories with every meal!

Eat More Fish

Eating more fish is a key part of healthy eating and the best way to start is find a few lightly flavored fish that you enjoy. Fish like tilapia and salmon are lean proteins that provide you with plenty of essential vitamins and nutrients, while also cutting back on calories. Fish contains plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential fatty acid that your body needs but cannot produce on its own.

The key to adding fish to a healthy diet though is to avoid deep frying fish, instead enjoy fish baked, grilled or broiled. Fish will satisfy your appetite in fewer calories than a steak.

Soup & Salad

Traditionally thought of as appetizers, soup and salad are a key part of healthy eating. Both make sure you get plenty of vegetables and nutrients in your diet, without a ton of calories. If you’re looking for a satisfying but low calorie lunch option, consider either or both of these dishes. And the best thing of all is that these dishes take very little effort if you’re in the market for low maintenance dinner recipes.

{This is a healthy and satisfying meal…just give it a try!}

To start healthy eating you should re-imagine soup and salad; they don’t have to be the boring dishes you remember. Eliminate the lettuce and mix a bowl of your favorite vegetables with a light vinaigrette for a healthy salad or enjoy a cucumber and melon gazpacho instead of a traditional hot soup.

The point is that your options are unlimited when you decide to eat healthy. Hit up farmer’s markets to get seasonal fruits and vegetables to help.

Nutrition Labels

An important step in getting started eating healthy is paying attention to what you put in your body, and how much goes in. To do this, you have to start reading nutrition labels. Nutrition labels provide you with key information that can help you lose weight and make sure you get enough essential nutrients.

In addition to finding out how much of your daily value of nutrients you’re receiving, nutrition labels give you 2 important pieces of information for healthy eating; serving size and calories per serving. Go to our calories homepage to get acquainted with the basic layout of nutrition labels, you’ll need it before you start your healthy eating shopping trip.

Water

As much as you love your soda and artificially flavored fruit drinks, healthy eating requires that you get more water in your diet. Most of us don’t drink nearly enough water. This, combined with everyday drinks which contain caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, sodas), results in our bodies being regularly dehydrated and functioning inefficiently.

You should try to get at least 8 glasses of water each day, but whatever the amount of water you currently drink you should increase it until you no longer feel dehydrated throughout the day. In fact, water is so essential to healthy eating because often we confuse thirst with hunger and eat food when we should be drinking a glass of water.

Water is something your body needs so consider this part of healthy eating and drinking.

Getting started with healthy eating doesn’t have to be torturous social experiment. Read our Eat Stop Eat review to find out how you can stop worrying about food all day long and start healthy eating the right way.