Trying to eat healthy, get enough physical activity, and avoid stress can be difficult many times, but it's even more complicated if your family refuses to go this route. With the right attitude and a bit of determination, though, your attempts to lead a healthy life will succeed (and maybe you could even convince your family to join you on the journey). Read on to learn more.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Focus on Yourself
Step 1. Take your family aside and explain that you have decided to eat healthy
Before we begin, it is important to tell everyone what your intentions are for leading a healthy lifestyle. You will need encouragement and support, as much as they are not interested in joining you on this path you want to take.
- If your family is not aware of what you are trying to do, they may tempt you with dishes that are not included in your diet, without having the slightest intention. Explaining your plan to get back in shape will help them understand why you will say no to unhealthy foods and may be able to show a little more sensitivity to your needs.
- Telling your family that you have made this decision will also help you stick to your goals, because there will be other people who will hold you accountable for what you eat and the physical activity you do.
- Once your family has noticed the progress you have made, whether you want to lose weight, have more energy or get back in shape, someone may feel motivated to join you!
Step 2. Eat a balanced diet
Having a balanced diet is essential for being in shape. Eating healthy and not overdoing portions are two moves that can help you lose weight, have more energy, sleep better, have better skin and get stronger nails and hair. And these are just some of the benefits. Either way, eating a balanced diet when the rest of the family isn't doing it can cause quite a bit of trouble, as this means you'll have to cook for yourself. Here are some foods that you should include in your diet for it to be considered healthy:
- Fruits and vegetables. These foods allow the body to assimilate minerals and vitamins. It is important to consume at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. You can do this by eating a fruit for breakfast, a salad for lunch, two portions of vegetables for dinner, and a fruit or vegetable for a snack.
- Carbohydrates: they are essential for your body to receive enough energy. Following a healthy diet, it is best to consume whole foods to ingest carbohydrates daily. So, eat unrefined bread, pasta and rice.
- Proteins: they allow you to repair cells and help you in the healing process. Foods rich in protein include meat, fish, eggs and legumes. To follow a healthy diet, try to eat more fish and white meats, such as chicken and turkey, as red meat has a higher fat content.
- Healthy fats: they are necessary to stay healthy in general and to make sure that your metabolism is functioning efficiently. Good sources of healthy fats include avocados, fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, and trout), nuts (such as almonds and walnuts), and seeds (such as sunflower and flax).
Step 3. Go for healthy versions of foods that aren't
When your mom cooks your favorite, far from healthy dishes, it can be hard to say no. In this situation it is best to replace these dishes with their healthier versions, so you don't stray from the plan and don't feel like you're missing something.
- For example, if your family orders pizza, you can try making your own using wholemeal flour, homemade tomato sauce, low-fat cheese, and healthy vegetables. This way you can still eat pizza with your family, but you'll cut the calories in half!
- You can also replace the unhealthy desserts you usually have at home (like ice cream or chocolate cake) with healthier but still tasty foods. Try a fruit salad mixed with yogurt, a wholemeal muffin, or baked apples drizzled with cinnamon. You will be able to satisfy your sweet tooth by respecting the food plan you have established.
- Try to find foods capable of stimulating the sense of smell and palate but with a low calorie content. This will help you avoid junk food.
Step 4. Check the portions
If you don't have the slightest intention of cooking completely different dishes from what the rest of the family will eat, you can still choose the same foods. Just make the effort to reduce portions and add a food or two to make the meal more balanced.
- For example, if your parents are going to eat a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, you too can do it without spoiling your diet. Just serve yourself a smaller portion (check out the recommended portions on the package), and then eat some steamed vegetables.
- If your family is going to eat grilled burgers, you can too; just eliminate the bread (refined bread is basically full of empty carbohydrates, and will not provide you with any useful nutrients) and fill the rest of the plate with salad. You will still enjoy some red meat cooked on the barbecue, but without the guilt!
- Try to find out in advance what your family plans to eat. This gives you plenty of time to figure out how to change the dish and make the meal balanced and healthy.
Step 5. Drink lots of water
Doing so is essential to following a healthy diet - it keeps you hydrated, aids digestion, makes your skin look prettier, and helps eliminate toxins from your body. It is advisable to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
- Sometimes we confuse thirst with hunger, so when you do, try drinking a glass of water. Doing this before each meal is ideal for limiting your appetite and avoiding binge eating.
- You can increase the liquids you consume with herbal teas, so consume as many cups as you want throughout the day. Some have even more benefits: chamomile has calming properties, ginger aids digestion, and green tea is rich in antioxidants.
Step 6. Exercise for half an hour a day
Exercise is an essential part of any plan to get in shape, as it allows you to burn calories and distribute nutrients to different parts of the body. In addition, it helps prevent diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
- It is important to make physical activity part of the plan to get in shape and be consistent. Studies show that 10 minutes of daily exercise is enough to have a positive impact on the body. You can do several types: walking to work, swimming, skipping rope and dancing.
- Physical activity is always more enjoyable when you engage in it with someone else. While your family may not be ready to change their diet, someone might be willing to join you for a daily run or a dance class. You don't have to persuade the whole family, just persuade your mother, father, daughter, son, brother or sister, and then everyone else may change their minds as time goes on.
- Try to find an activity that you enjoy and do it for at least half an hour a day. As difficult as it is at first, you will find that it will gradually become easier, as you will get better and better. Don't use the classic excuse of time for not doing it: everyone can carve out 30 minutes a day, you just have to want to.
Step 7. Don't stress yourself out
Being healthy doesn't just mean eating right and getting enough physical activity, but you also need to take care of your mental health by avoiding stress and making sure you get enough rest. As slightly insane and stressful as your family is, it's important to take some time for yourself; this will also help you get better.
- Here are some activities you could do to avoid feeling stressed and to relax: yoga, meditation, reading a book, or a warm bath before bed.
- Also, make sure you get enough sleep; you should try to do this for 8 hours a night, 6 at least. Getting a good rest ensures that your body will not be overworked and that you will be ready to perform well at school or work the next day.
- If you have problems in your family or at work that are putting you down, you may want to see a counselor to help you overcome them and come to terms with any negative feelings you have. A healthy body won't do you much good if you're not mentally peaceful.
Step 8. Try not to get sick
In addition to taking care of your nutrition, physical activity and mental health, if you want to keep fit you should take precautions not to get sick. Fortunately, you can develop several measures in order not to contract any viruses if a family member falls ill.
- Washing your hands is one of the main ways to avoid getting sick. This includes doing it before going to the bathroom and after, before cooking, before and after changing your baby's diaper, and after touching dirty surfaces and tools.
- Also, it is important to wash and disinfect your hands after touching any object that has come into contact with a sick family member. It is ideal to keep wipes or hand sanitizer gel in view of these situations. Finally, you should thoroughly clean all toys used by sick children to avoid infecting other family members.
- Do not share plates, glasses or utensils with sick family members. They should be washed with detergent and hot water after being used by an infectious person. This helps you prevent the spread of germs in your home.
- When your husband or wife gets sick, try to sleep in the opposite direction and avoid kissing. Sheets should be washed frequently using the high temperature wash cycle. These precautions will help you avoid passing on some common diseases, such as colds and flu.
Part 2 of 2: Involving the Family
Step 1. Involve the whole family in the kitchen
Once you have adopted this healthy lifestyle and recovered your fitness, you can slowly convince your family to join you. A great way to do this is to persuade everyone to participate in the kitchen.
- Ask your children to help you cook. Assign them simple tasks, like sifting flour or beating eggs for a healthy omelette.
- Ask your family members what they like best and what they hate - if your dad doesn't like onions, you might want to avoid adding them to your salad.
- Plan a pizza dinner, but make it at home. Everyone should try their hand at a wholemeal flour-based dough, and then choose the topping they prefer, provided it's healthy. It's also a fun way to get the whole family together.
Step 2. Introduce foods that are good for you in a tantalizing way
When a healthy food looks appealing, others will be tempted to taste it. So take healthy dishes and modify them by adding colorful fresh ingredients and foods with interesting textures.
- If you are trying to encourage the kids to eat more fruit, make a colorful fruit salad - it will be more inviting than a plate where you only have pieces of apple. Mixing fruit with fresh juice or yogurt will make the dish tastier and more interesting.
- If you're trying to get an adult to eat salad, you won't have much success mixing just lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber (although they make a good foundation). Try adding strawberries or olives for a pop of color, nuts and seeds for a more inviting texture, eggs and avocado to add flavor. A tasty dressing made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and minced garlic can make the salad more appetizing even in the eyes of the most fussy diners.
Step 3. Hide healthy ingredients in dishes your family loves
There is a more “deceptive” method to encourage everyone to eat healthy foods: just disguise them. This way, they will be able to eat as usual, but will still benefit from the vitamins and nutrients provided by the hidden foods.
- On their own, spinach isn't a very palatable ingredient, but if you try to hide it in puff pastry, adding some low-fat garlic and cheese, you'll make a tasty quiche. Your family won't even notice your attempt! You could also try bringing foods like lettuce, carrots, and legumes to the table by adding them to spring rolls. Make several attempts!
- Making a vegetable-based soup is another way to make your family eat healthy, without sacrificing flavor. Some ingredients, such as carrots, courgettes, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and squash, are ideal for mixing to make a soup. Once you add an extra touch of flavor with some fresh herbs, a dash of cooking cream or soy sauce, junk foods will quickly end up on the back burner in your home.
Step 4. Use herbs and spices to spice up bland dishes
These ingredients are a godsend for chefs who want to create dishes suitable for even the most demanding diners. They will offer you numerous benefits and allow you to recreate the elaborate flavors of industrial foods in a healthier and more natural way - your family will love them.
- Cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and nutmeg are some popular spices, while for herbs we mention parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil and mint. Experiment by adding different combinations of herbs and spices to meat and vegetable dishes - you will discover a new world full of flavors.
- You can also try other ingredients that make your dishes tastier, such as soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, flavored salt, vegetable or beef cube, chicken or fish, and citrus peel.
Step 5. Switch to healthier cooking methods
To eat healthily, it is not enough to choose certain foods, you should also cook them correctly. So, as difficult as it is to convert your family to healthier cooking, it will be easier to persuade everyone to make some changes in the preparation of the dishes.
- In addition to frying and boiling, there are other methods of cooking, such as grilling, steaming or using the oven. These types of cooking are much healthier, because they do not require as much fat to cook (as happens with fried) and nutrients are not lost due to boiling. With some seasonings, foods will taste great, but the calories they contain will be far fewer and the nutritional values will increase.
- Try to use healthier, unsaturated fat-free seasonings, such as olive oil, coconut oil, and ghee. You will stay away from less healthy vegetable and seed oils, such as corn oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and sunflower oil. Always cook with real butter instead of margarine or lard. This simple step will have a huge impact on the overall health of the family.
Step 6. Introduce more variety to your dishes
In general, changing livens up your life, so avoid preparing the same types of healthy meals day after day, otherwise your family will soon get bored and get back to their old habits.
- For example, one night you might try cooking Indian vegetable curry accompanied by brown rice, another time you might make stir-fried chicken and vegetables, yet another steak with salad, or grilled salmon served with some asparagus or sweet potatoes. Just because you eat healthy doesn't mean your meals have to be boring!
- Also, try to cook in turns; one night, a family member might prepare a delicious and healthy meal after having a great idea that you would never have thought of. Involving everyone in the family in the kitchen will help you feel motivated and enthuse everyone on this journey.
Step 7. Share meals as a family
You should all sit at the table at lunch or dinner time. This will reinforce the starting idea, which is to get back in shape together. It will also allow you to make your meals more enjoyable, because you can tell each other about your day and spend time with friends.
- Sure, you're all very busy, but it's important to take the time to get together. Eating together will also help you stay on track and stick to your meal plan, as it will be much more enjoyable than ordering food out and dining alone.
- Make sure that each family member has their own duties, so that the work does not fall on one person. One should cook, another set the table and clear the table, still another wash the dishes. If you want, you can carry out the different tasks in rotation. Establish shifts day after day or once a week.
Step 8. Plan fun activities for the whole family
Once you've got a good rhythm in the kitchen and at the table, it's time to get everyone involved in physical activity. It's not too hard to convince younger children, but busy teens and parents can give you a hard time!
- You could plan a weekend trip out so that everyone goes hiking, swimming or taking a long walk in the woods. Prepare everything you need for a healthy picnic and take advantage of this opportunity to spend time together.
- If you have a garden or yard, try to go there often throughout the week. You could organize a soccer tournament with your children, shoot hoops with your brother or go gardening with your mother. Any kind of physical activity is fine.
