When you think about making food choices, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Is it going on a diet, cutting down on certain foods, or limiting your food taste? The truth of the matter is, making food choices is about going “smart”. Well, that’s the way how it should be. The idea is to choose what you eat carefully in order to keep a balanced healthy lifestyle. I’ll show you why being “smart” when making food choices will make your life easier.

First of all…

You should be concerned about the foods you eat, but not worried. Being worried creates stress, makes us literally become paranoid about food, and sometimes urges people to go to unhealthy extremes. Making food choices is about become aware of what is good for our body and what is not, without creating anxiety and extreme limitations. I like to use the term “balance” here. You should know that there are tons of options you can take into consideration, while still enjoying the pleasure of eating.

How to make proper food choices

Food choices should be based on different aspects of our daily living: our cultural background, our lifestyle, our environment, health conditions and personal goals. These are areas you should consider every time you decide on your eating habits. Assessing correctly what works for you and what not depends entirely on you. Exactly, you are the only one who can determine the path of your health. Let’s take a look at each aspect.

Cultural background

Do you recall what was your eating lifestyle when you were little?  Do you remember your mom’s favorite recipes and dishes? I am sure you can relate to the foods you used to share with your family as a kid. And so, it happens when we grow up. Passing on family eating traditions is part of a whole cultural background.

Because of the above, your mind unconsciously goes for the preferred foods that have been there available for us since childhood days. For example, if you are afro descendant, like me, it would be very unlikely that you choose to have a chinese traditional breakfast daily.  I know that in my case, my diet would be based on whole grains, meats, and spices. The same happens with any other ethnic or family tradition.

Making food choices bases on your family traditions is not something to be denied, even though, you may have “high calorie” foods involved. That is part of your own identity, and doing small modifications now and then is acceptable.

Lifestyle

Your own lifestyle also determines what types of foods you will choose. Are you an athlete, a business person, do you work at an office, do you work out at the gym or outdoors? These examples are aspects you should take into account before making an food choices. For example, an athlete will require special calorie needs that are different than a person who just works out a few times a week for active lifestyle.

A very important fact is that if you make changes in your lifestyle, then eventually the same thing you should do with food choices. If you start training at the gym, for example, you will eventually switch certain foods to add others for better fitness performance. With this, it doesn’t necessarily include supplements, but making changes in the type of snacks. The same thing happens if you decide to go for a plant eating lifestyle. Going vegan requires making some assessment on the foods that will replace the nutritional value of those you are changing for. These are typical cases in which your eating habits would go along with your lifestyle.

Environment

As strange as it sounds, environment also plays a key role in what we choose to eat. Sometimes you may need to adapt to what is available in your surroundings. Also, you have to consider cultural celebrations, holidays, special occasions and season changes.  It is proven that appetites can change in the sunny days compared to the rainy days. As well, it happens with the winter time versus the summer weather.

You basically would take a look at what is available in the area where you live. If you are in a tropical weather, it would be easier to find fresh fruits and vegetables. Whereas in the cold weather, you would typically find certain other types of foods. Despite that, nowadays, there are many varieties to pick from, considering new packaging and preserving options.

Health conditions

Making smart food choices is critical, especially if you have a special health condition. If you are a diabetic patient, you want to be careful to select foods that will help to control your blood sugar levels. The same goes for someone who suffers from high blood pressure. Even though there may be varieties of option to go for, you still need to evaluate which foods are good for you. Reading food labels is key here. You will need to receive some guide from your nutritionist, to determine which nutrients you should be careful with. Eating correctly ensures that you will take proper care of your condition.

Personal goals

What would be your health goals for this year and the next ones to come? Have you set your desired achievements? Remember about setting the right expectations and making health goals in my previous article here. Your eating habits are based on your personal goals.

Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, control your blood sugar or blood cholesterol, gain weight, you always need to bear this first in mind when choosing healthy foods.

Your objectives should be realistic and measurable. They should also be aligned to the guidelines and recommendations to live healthy. Here are some of the reminders I want to focus on to help you with your healthy journey.

Finally, consider these top 12 guides for healthy and smart food choices, share them with your loved ones.

• Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables.
• Drink enough water everyday (8-10 glasses of water)
• When choosing meats and poultry, go for the ones that are lean or that have less visible fat.
• Eat more whole grains, take advantage of the ones that provide more vitamins, minerals and fiber. You may refer back to some superfoods here.
• Eat 5-6 times a day. Do at least 3 main meals plus 2 healthy snacks.
• Remember the “cheat meals”! It’s a cheat meal during the day, try not to do a full day cheat meal.
• Read food labels when shopping for foods.
• Consider your diet limitations when doing food choices. This applies for allergies, if you are lactose intolerant, celiac, or have digestive conditions.
• Limit the amount of salt, sodium and artificial additives. These are related to increasing your blood pressure.
• Limit the amount of alcohol in your diet.
• Limit the amount of sugar, pastry foods,and saturated fat.
• Choose more natural foods, visit your local food market to get more fresh options.

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