如何做出更健康的食物选择?
No matter how much you love food or how skilled you are in the cooking department, eating well on a consistent basis is an ongoing battle-especially after an exhausting day, when the very thought of cooking dinner (never mind cleaning up the aftermath) sends you straight to the nearest fast-food joint. This is because insufficient rest messes with our hunger hormones. "When we're tired, levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin rise and levels of leptin, the hormone that helps us feel full, falls," says New York-based registered dietitian Katherine Brooking, RD. "The areas of the brain that control willpower are hijacked, making it harder to resist junk food cravings." Harder, but not impossible, say experts. With just a little advance planning, you can show your out-of-whack hunger hormones who's boss. Here's how to get started. Stash grab-and-go snacks Keeping non-perishable snacks in your desk and car (weather-permitting) can curb the temptation to reach for convenience foods that lack nutrition-and often make cravings worse, says Grace Derocha, RD, certified diabetes educator and certified health coach at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Snacks like nuts, seeds, jerky, roasted chickpeas, and popcorn can help stabilize your blood sugar-a prerequisite to quashing your cravings-and make it (way) easier to steer clear of the drive-thru on the way home from work. Double up on prep If meal prep isn't your thing (or your schedule makes it a difficult habit to maintain), prep as you go by cooking more than you think you'll need each time you're making a meal-say, double or triple, says St. Louis-based registered dietitian Alex Caspero, RD. The more versatile the foods (think: brown rice, grilled chicken, roasted veggies, tuna salad), the more mix-and-match options you'll have to choose from after a long day at the office. Make extra servings (and freeze them) Sure, frozen meals are convenient, but they can get pricey-so can throwing out leftovers that you can't stand to look at anymore. Solve both problems by dividing your leftovers into single-serve portions and freezing them in storage containers or bags, suggests Molly Devine, RD, founder of Eat Your Keto and advisor to KetoLogic. |