Many people ask us what a healthy day of eating can look like. What do I eat? Where do I start? We will show you how you can improve your diet a little bit at a time, while still enjoying everything that you are eating.
- Recognize your starting point
Everyone has their own unique starting point, traditions, preferences and resources. Changes in diet can also depend on your time, money, creativity, willingness to try new things, motivation to feel better and so much more.
Some want big changes, and some want to change as little as possible. Wherever you start, just recognize that you are starting. And that is amazing. Wherever your starting point is, you can do small things to improve and still feel like you are making your own decisions about what to eat, and that you are eating foods that you enjoy.
- Be open and creative
There are endless options. The people we interviewed that have gotten rid of chronic disease all had a different journey. They all did it in different ways. In this article we share what a typical day of eating can look like, and the steps you can take to make improvements to every meal. Try to approach this with openness and creativity. Look for things you can implement into your life. Be creative, and change it up so that it can work for you.
If you need some help finding the motivation and making a plan, read this article to know how to set your health goals, make a plan and what to expect.
3. Focus on the right things
Many people have an idea of what a healthy diet looks like. But almost all of us have gotten some wrong advice along the way or have been influenced by commercials telling us what is healthy without even knowing it. There are also huge “health” trends that are unfortunately not helping people getting rid of chronic disease at all. The thing to focus on is more fresh fruits, vegetables, berries, and other tools that will help you get rid of chronic disease. Not sure what to be focusing on? Here we share the 9 most effective approaches to improving your diet to get rid of chronic disease.
4. Choose the approach that works for you
Some people start with improving their morning habits, and let the rest of the day be more or less unchanged diet wise. This can be a good place to start if it sounds doable for you. A good morning habit will have huge benefits for your body. And it will help start you out with a clearer mind and more energy for the day ahead.
After a couple of weeks or months you can work on improving your lunch habits, finding some different healthier options to explore. This is just one approach, there are so many more. Some start with weekdays, leaving the weekends as is. Some start with weekends. Whatever works for you. Or pick just one meal to improve, or one fruit or vegetable to implement into your week.
5. You don’t have to “start all over” if you “mess up”
Any healthy food you eat will benefit your body.
So many people say to us that “I could never do that”, “I could never follow a plan like that”, “I need to have my freedom” etc. They think that this is something you have to do everyday, all the time. While that may be true for some people who are very sick, it is almost never the case for anyone. Everyone who wants to improve their diet will have days or meals where they succeed and days or meals where they fall back into old habits. And that´s ok. Keep your mind on your goal, look forward and know that food each next meal you can make a healthier choice. Don´t judge or blame yourself. You are doing the best you can, and your body is so grateful for what you are doing.
We always hear: “Is everything ruined if I eat bad foods? Do I have to start all over again?“ The answer is No. Every good meal or healthy piece of food you eat will help you on your way to getting rid of chronic disease. Depending on the unhelpful food you eat, how much, how often, and how sick you are, it will not help you move forward, but as long as you keep your focus and get back on track each time, you will still be able to reach your goal in the future. Remember that. Don’t give up or lose motivation because sometimes you could have had a healthier meal.
None of us are perfect all the time. Days are different and life happens. But try to get back on track. The next meal can be a great one.
6. An example to get you started
This is a list to show you what it can look like. You can start improving any meal at any time of the day. Our suggestions are collected from the people we interviewed who got rid of chronic disease. Remember that everyone’s meal plan looks different. You also don’t have to have the mindset that now all your days have to look something like this. Some days we are able to eat better, some days we fall into old habits because of preferences, lack of time or so many other factors. Some periods we find an amazing healthy food or meal that we enjoy for weeks or months before we feel the need to mix it up again. The idea behind this list is to give you an example and some inspiration to try to improve some of your days or some of your meals. Make it your own and try to figure out what works for you.
Starting point | Improvement (try this over the first couple of weeks) | Even better(maybe after months or a year) | Optimal(Optimal is optional. Not everyone wants or needs this) | |
Wherever you are, choose something you want to improve | Add fresh fruits and vegetables | Remember to increase the amounts you eat as you go | Try to follow this plan for a day or half a day one day a week some weeks. Every meal brings you closer to your health goal. | |
Upon waking | Coffee | Lemon water Herbal tea(or coffee if you need it until you get your energy back) | Celery juice | Lemon water Celery juice |
Breakfast | Eggs and bacon og store-bought cereals | Tomato beans and gluten free avocado toast. Fresh tomato and some spinach on the side | Oatmeal made with water or pure oat milk with honey and lots of fruits and berries | Large fruit smoothie (check out the amazing blueberry smoothie packed with nutrients to help your body) |
Lunch | Tuna sandwich | Bean burrito | Large salad with roasted honey nuts | Large salad with fresh fruits, greens and vegetables |
Snack | Crackers | Crackers and fruits or veggie sticks with dip | Homemade oat bars | Cut up fruits and veggies |
Hydration during the day | Coffee (is dehydrating) Energy drinks | Water, store bought juice | Lemon water, herbal tea | Fresh juices, lemon water and herbal teas |
Dinner | Fish and chips | Fish with less chips and a small salad and/or vegetables on the side | Wild salmon with potatoes and a salad | Oven baked vegetables, bean stew, potatoes and a green salad |
Evening | Potato chips / chocolate | Add fresh fruits and berries | Remove chips gradually and replace with something you have gotten the taste for since you started improving, like homemade oat crackers, a fresh fruit dessert, a blueberry pie etc | Apples and dates |
The suggestions are from people who have gotten rid of chronic disease themselves, many using specific recipes and protocols. If you want to do a detox or cleanse your body to get rid of disease, the book “Cleanse to heal” by Anthony William has helped so many people get their health back.
Remember that fruits and vegetables contain a lot of healthy water full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. But not as many calories as meat, cheese, oils etc. So as we go, we need to increase our meals and make sure we eat enough calories.
This should be your focus over time.
If you ever saw a person that eats a lot of fruits or vegetables in their diet, you will notice they eat large amounts.