Healthy Eating Changes – Small Steps For The Obese

Lately my Family and myself have been attempting to eat better and become more healthier. As we are all big and heavy people, I think this healthier eating option is way over due. During this change in eating habits, I have discovered some pretty cool things which I had no idea about. Simple things could make a difference to our health such as avoiding bad foods that we may not all know can make us obese.

So today I have documented some tips I have learned. Some tips for trying to eat better from a Big person’s point of view, which may hopefully help others in a similar situation to us. While I do encourage others like myself to loose weight, these tips are more for learning to eat healthier by some simple little techniques.

The Way We Cook Can Be Un-Healthy

To my surprise, the way we actually prepare and cook certain foods can be doing us little help. I have learned some and implemented different techniques, some which I had no idea were healthier than other methods of cooking.

Did you know that cooking vegetables in water is not ideal? I had no idea of this. To my amazement I found out that the less water one cooks vegetables in the healthier it can be. Why is this so?. Well when we overcook vegetables especially by the boiling method, the water can extract/destroy the important nutrients we get from vegetables. So less water the better way to prevent this from happening. After all vegetables are such an important part in a healthy diet.

When I found out that a Microwave is meant to be the best method in cooking vegetables I immediately turned my nose up to the idea. Ideally the vegetables are best suited to a microwave with a steamer design. However vegetables can also be cooked like how I use to cook them. In a microwave safe mixing bowl with plastic wrap over the top. With this method I suggest adding minimal water to prevent loss of nutrients.

Potatoes in the Microwave? No Way!

Well yes actually, baked potatoes even. This method is great because it eliminates needing oil and extra fat. The potatoes create a hard skin just like in the oven, yet remain soft and squishy on the inside. This method is very healthy and maintains the nutrients in my opinion.

The most common way to cook vegetables in my house is on the stove top. IT’s more of a convenience thing for us. However now we try to add as little water as possible to reduce the chance of nutrients escaping. Broccoli is my all time favourite vegetable and I use to love it when it was over cooked and soft. However now I have learned that I wasn’t getting any of the good stuff with this method. Vegetables more prone to loosing nutrients include broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

Grilling and Broiling are great healthy alternative methods of cooking. Not just vegetables, but seafood/fish and meats as well. Both of these methods use less fat to cook and also taste amazing. Combine the two by grilling vegetables on the grill and using a boiler to prepare the fish for a healthier way to eat.

No Cooking Healthy Alternatives For The Large Person

Snacks, boy they are great. However the wrong snacks all the time are the reason I got out to the obese size I was. By changing to a healthier diet I managed to find easy to prepare healthy snacks. I replaced the Iced Coffees and Ice cream snacks for a blended fruit snack. The humble kitchen blender is an important part of a healthy kitchen.

Besides blending fruits and vegetables for a cook free snack, some highly nutritional snacks include making your own fruit salad. In under 5 minutes I could open a can of mandarins, slice up a banana and cut up a few oranges and apples. Mix them all together in a bowl for a yummy healthy snack for the whole family.

Other alternative fruits can be used such as blueberries, strawberries, passion fruit etc. A much more healthier snack compared to the deep fried chicken wings I was constantly eating.

Don’t just stop with the fruit salad, why not make a fruit skewer. For this I prefer harder fruits like, apples, melons, oranges etc. To compliment this, get a low fat tub of yoghurt for the dipping sauce. Much more better for me than the deep fried spring rolls.

Salads Can Be Fattening

I almost fell over when I heard that salads can be bad for you. All my life I was told to eat salad and vegetables… Ok so it’s not so much the greens in the salad that I’m referring too, it’s what’s loaded on top. The salad dressing is the culprit.

Some salad dressings are very high in fat content and I was not concerned at all at the time. I just thought Salad=Healthy. So try to use a low fat dressing like balsamic and avoid the higher fat dressings like Caesar, Ranch, Mayo etc.

Don’t write the salad off either like I use to. They really can be yummy. It’s what ingredient’s you use that will affect the taste level. Spruce the salad up with things you already like. Some ideas can include orange wedges, sprouts, broccoli pieces, grapes, raisins, ad apples.

Adding some nutrients to a potato salad is not a bad idea either. Slice up some green peppers, cucumber and even broccoli and mix them into the potato salad. Not only does this add some needed nutrients to the dish, but it also adds a new texture level. Crunch!

In Conclusion

Making small little changes to my diet have had a positive impact of my health level. While they are nothing dramatic, and something most people could do. I find them to be overlooked a lot, especially by us heavier people.

I know I tend to think, what’s the point of eating an apple, I’m already huge and 1 apple won’t change a thing. It’s the small baby steps that I’ve taken which have resulted in a relatively exercise free 40 pound weight loss. Implement a few changes today, and look forward to a healthier tomorrow.