When you’re trying to be healthy, it can sometimes feel really hard. If you’re used to eating a rich diet, full of hearty, carb-heavy meals, sugary snacks, and extra salt, it can be difficult to try and cut it all down. However, these are the kinds of things people try to fix to feel healthier. If you are trying to commit to a healthy lifestyle change, you’re going to want to make sure that two things are happening. First of all, you will want to ensure that you are focusing on being healthy and not restricting yourself too much. But not only that, you will also want to ensure that what you are eating is keeping you on track, and be cognizant of the foods you are choose, because it’s easy to let your diet down without even knowing it.

Drinks

One place to start is to examine your choice in beverages. Sugary beverages are an easy way to consume a lot of hidden calories and added sugars in the form of juices and regular soda. Alcohol can also add calories to your daily intake without providing any nutritional value. So be mindful about the drinks you are choosing, because it’s not just about food. Opt for swapping out water for some of these beverages. If you need some flavor, try infusing water with your favorite fruit, which will provide some flavor without all of the calories of pure fruit juice. If you need the bubbles from a carbonated beverage, opt for diet soda or sparkling water.

Hidden Sugar

But you’re also going to want to make sure that you look out for hidden sugar in foods too. Because this could be another area where you are unknowingly consuming extra calories. Some examples here include yogurts, smoothies, instant oatmeal, and granola bars. Typically processed foods that are prepackaged will have added sugar to them, so be mindful of the nutrition labels, paying close attention to the total and added sugars. You can also look at the ingredients list, which are listed in the order of greatest quantity to least within a serving.

Work Meals

Work can be stressful and leave you with limited time to grab a meal, leaving you opting for the quickest option over the healthiest. Preparing your meals over the weekend or in the evening before work can be one way to ensure that you have a lunch prepared for the work day. However, if you find that you’re having difficult preparing meals, and you end up buying lunch or are snacking on whatever foods you may find around the office, then you might need to address this. Here, you could look at a meal prep delivery service, or being more aware of the ingredients in the meals you purchase, staying away from fried foods and those that are heavily processed.

Premade Meals

Premade or packaged meals are another easy way to find yourself with an unhealthy diet. Take a look at what is in the supermarket ready-meals and frozen foods, because although they may be packaged and marketed as a healthy option, they may be anything but. And this could be jeopardizing your healthy lifestyle. Packaged foods typically have more preservatives, such as salt, that increase their shelf-life, but decrease their nutrition.

Binges

Another problem that people run into is restricting themselves too much. This can lead to an increase in cravings that leads to binging or “cheat days” where you eat whatever you want. If you find that you’re getting hungry and you cannot stop thinking about food, or find yourself too hungry and irritable, it might be that you’re restricting yourself too much. Give yourself a small break. Enjoy something that you’re craving, but be mindful of the portion size. You may only need a small piece of that cake or just one cookie to satisfy that craving and get yourself back on track to eating healthy, rather than putting it off until you crack and binge on a dozen cookies.

This is a contributor post, which has been reviewed and edited personally by me before being published. Links to external reviews are meant to provide additional ideas to readers and do not reflect my personal opinion or review of products.

Featured photo credit: Brooke Lark