How to eat a healthier diet

It's the challenge everyone faces-how to eat healthier and keep up with a busy schedule. Too many people give in to the fact that their lives are just "to busy' to eat healthy. However the reality is that with some planning you can eat a healthier diet, without having to bring your life to a grinding halt. When you take the time to plan what you are going to eat it not only aids in maintaining a healthy weight, or losing weight, but improves your overall health. Here is what you need to know about how to eat a healthier diet-

• Organize in the morning-One of the biggest traps in eating a healthier diet is lack of planning. Too many people don't know what they are going to eat for dinner when 4pm rolls around. This leads to the drive thru or picking up food that is low in nutritional value. This leads to many calories, to much fat and definitely not enough nutrition. The best time to plan what you are going to have for dinner, is before you have put in a long and exhausting day. By taking the time to do some planning in the morning you are much more likely to avoid the diet traps that await you on the way home.
• Plan dinner when you exercise-Many people complaint that it is either good food or exercise because they don't have time to do both. However, you can multitask. While you work out go over the meal plan in your head. Do a quick mental check of what you will need for dinner. Do you have to defrost something? Do you need to stop and pick up a bag of veggies? If you are setting your meal up in advance, you won't be caught off guard.
• Cook once, Eat twice-No one is saying that lack of time isn't a real problem. However, savvy and smart eaters know how to make the most of the time they have. Use your weekends to cook one or two large meals and then freeze portions for weeknight meals. This way all you have to do is plan a side dish. If you are unsure ofwhat options freeze well, there are several online sites that can give you plenty of ideas.
• Stock your freezer-It's not just important to stock your fridge with nutritious food, but your freezer as well. The following items can all form the basis of some great nutritious meals:
  1. Boneless chicken
  2. Un-breaded fish
  3. Frozen shrimp
  4. Frozen vegetables
  5. Frozen berries
  Since you will be planning your meals in the morning, you can take out your proportioned items and have them defrosting in the fridge, for when you get home.
• Pack some snack and a healthy lunch-If you want to have a healthier diet, you need to make sure that you don't give into temptation. Packing your own snacks will help to keep you from making that trip to the candy machine, at 3pm. Consider the following items as you pack your bag for the day:
  1. Fruit
  2. Vegetables
  3. Yogurt
  4. Low fat string cheese

These are all great choices because they pack a big nutritional punch with very little calories and fat. They will fill you up for just a fraction of the calories that are in a candy bar, muffin or bag of chips. Best of all they don't need refrigeration and are easy to carry. Nutritional experts advise skipping over snack bars and crackers as these can be extremely high in calories. Finally, make sure that you pack your lunch, that way you will know exactly what you are eating and just how good it really is for you.