We all want to eat healthier, but going on a properly-managed diet can be a difficult thing to manage yourself. Turning nutrition into a career is the purpose of Centennial College's Nutrition and Food Service Management Program. This college diploma program has numerous awards for preparing students to challenging careers as managers in the dynamic and growing health care and food service industry, providing the right nutrition to people that need it most. Here's some easy ways to manage your own nutrition, before you manage anyone else's, sourced from James Clear and Greatist.
Don't shop hungry
It'll lead to impulse buying of way too much unhealthy food because when you're hungry, everything looks good. And if you don't have easy access to unhealthy food, you won't be tempted to eat it. You can even have a snack before going to the store!
Don't skip breakfast. In fact, make it a big one.
Never skip it, because it sets your body's metabolism for the day. Make it a healthy one, too. Consuming some protein early on can stop overeating later in the day. Really, even cramming some toast into your mouth is better than nothing.
Avoid canned food. Eat fresh instead.
Canned food has way more salt, sugar and preservatives then fresh food. Not only that, but fresh tastes better, and costs less. Speaking of costing less…
Make as much of your food yourself as you can
From a financial perspective, every step you have someone else do for you is extra money added on, and every step you do yourself is money taken away. So, the more you do yourself, the cheaper it is, and that's before even factoring in the nutrition behind it. When you make food yourself, you directly control what goes into it, and can make it as healthy as you like.
No soda! Drink plenty of water instead.
It's not just that it's bad for you, and is full of sugar, but it also fills space in you that could instead be used for much better drinks, like water. A good way to make sure you drink that water is to fill up a large bottle of water and set it next to you during the day, thus making sure you get your fill without even thinking about it.
Eat fruit instead of sweets.
Instead of having dessert, have some fruit, like strawberries or pineapple instead. It's a great way to get that same sweetness in a more natural way. More importantly, fruit won't lead to a sugar crash later on.
The further away junk food is, the less you'll want to eat it.
Coming back to that "Don't shop hungry" thing, if you want to avoid junk food, just keep it out of your house. You can't give in to cravings if there's nothing around to give into!
These are just a few ways to manage nutrition. If it's something you'd like to do for a career, Centennial College can make it happen with Nutrition and Food Service Management.
By Anthony Geremia