I believe that healthy eating is about three things: inclusion, nutrition and enjoyment. I do not believe it should be about deprivation, restriction or misery. Yet, so many of us think that once we start to eat healthy or opt for a healthier lifestyle, we need to give up the foods we love — the foods we enjoy. But, I don’t think that should be the case. Here are my top three tips for enjoying the foods you love without overdoing it… better known as, my top tips for enjoying the foods you love in a healthy way. 

Step 1: Make Nutritious Foods the Base of Your Diet 

You aren’t required to eat only healthy foods in order to eat healthy. But, healthy foods should make up the majority of your intake. For instance, let’s say you love fries or sweets. Can you still eat these foods if you want to eat healthy? Yes! Of course. But you need to make sure you are also eating a lot of real foods, like vegetables and fruits. If you only eat fries and sweets then the majority of your daily intake is going to come from those foods, which are completely void of nutrients. So, that’s not the healthiest choice.

But, if you are eating a veggie egg scramble for breakfast, large salad with chicken and a side of fries for lunch, and dinner of grilled salmon, broccoli, and rice… let’s say you even top the day off with a bowl of ice cream… then yes, I would say that is a healthy day because outside of the fries and ice cream, the food you were choosing was nutrient-dense. If the majority of your intake is highly nutritious, while a small portion of your intake is nutrient-void, you’re still doing it right. 

Step 2: If you LOVE a Lot of Nutrient-Void Foods, It’s Time to Prioritize 

Let’s say on top of a penchant for fries and sweets, you also love cheeseburgers and chips and candy and pretzels. These are examples of foods that taste good (see: delicious) but don’t offer a lot of nutrients. Sure, you can definitely eat these foods — just just not all in one day. I suggest prioritizing these treasured-but-nutrient-void foods. Maybe one day you eat fries and ice cream. The next day you can eat a cheeseburger. The next day you eat some chips. Simply don’t eat them all in the same day. Again, this goes back to step number one of making sure nutritious foods are the base of your diet every day, not just a side to your burger. This will allow space in your diet, every day if you want, for enjoyable but less nutritious foods. 

Step 3: Check In With Yourself 

When dealing with food in general it can be helpful to check in with yourself. Ask yourself why you are eating this particular food? Are you hungry? Stressed? Tired? Bored? Or simply want the warm brownie because you love it and it’s a chilly, fall day?

I think the biggest issue with unhealthy foods is that they are often linked to emotional eating. Not always, but often. Identifying if you are eating the fries because you love them vs. because you are stressed, for example, is a super helpful way to learn how to enjoy foods like these in a healthy way. Emotional eating often leads to mindless eating and overeating. To combat this, it’s important to identify any emotional eating patterns in order to manage them. 

Now you’ve got my top three tips for eating healthy without restricting yourself from the foods you love. I invite you to see how these work for you!