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Living a longer, healthier life can start with your diet. You could add up to 13 years to your life if you ate few red and processed meats and more fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts, a recent study revealed.

According to the study, the largest gains in longevity were found from eating more legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils; whole grains, which are the entire seed of a plant; and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios.

Plant-based diets are winning top nutritional honours. 

READ MORE: Why the 10,000 steps a day challenge is a myth

In fact, diet can be as much of a vital sign as blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate, said Dr David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine and nutrition who has published research on how to use food as preventive medicine.

Ready to get healthier? Here are five expert-recommended ways to change your diet for the better.

1. Track your current eating habits

Many of us eat mindlessly, not really understanding all that we put into our mouths. That’s why becoming aware of your real eating habits is the first step, said registered dietitian nutritionist Kathleen Zelman.

“Write down everything you eat for a day and include details such as time, location and other factors that affect your dietary habits,” Zelman said.

“Then sit back, take a closer look, and make a plan on how you can do better.”

Don’t try to be perfect when you start to change your diet, she added. “Instead look for small steps that you can sustain. Then do it again next week.”

2. Plan for success

“We eat what surrounds us,” said Dr Tom Rifai, who teaches a continuing education class on nutrition and metabolic syndrome at Harvard Medical School.

He suggests shifting your food environment — including your home, your work and your car — by planning ahead.

Pack healthy lunches and snacks, and don’t forget travel.

READ MORE: What to eat to help you sleep better tonight

“Stop at a grocery store before you get to the hotel so you can stock your room like you would stock your home,” he said.

Stocking your pantry with healthy staples you can turn to on a busy night is another way to boost your successful transition to a healthier eating style.

3. Remove sugar from breakfast

Start your day with a healthier bang by removing sugar from breakfast, suggests Dina Aronson, lead dietitian with Diet ID, which focuses on dietary assessment and health behaviour change.

“There’s so many benefits to cutting sugar from the first meal of the day,” she said.

“Your blood sugar stays level; your energy and creativity stays high, and it sets the tone for the day.

“Rethinking breakfast is a powerful approach to habit change because it’s a meal most people have every day,” she said.

“If no sugar becomes a rule, people learn to love it, and that becomes habit.”

4. Make one meal meatless

The simplest way to start eating more plants is to replace one meat-based meal a day with a plant- or grain-based choice, experts say.

Start with lunch — adding lentils, whole grains or beans to a meatless salad helps raise those blood sugar levels slowly, which gives your brain the energy it needs to make it through the afternoon slump. It also reduces overeating at night, experts say.

READ MORE: A nutritionist explains what it really means to ‘eat mindfully’

5. Eat what you love

We all know eating fruits and veggies are good for us, but they aren’t typically our favourite foods. Yet in order for this new habit to stick you need to get enjoyment out of eating delicious, healthy food, Aronson said.

“How can you enjoy healthy food so it’s never a punishment and always a reward? Figure out what it is you love,” Aronson said.

“Love barbecue? Roast some cauliflower with barbecue rub. Delicious.

“Work with an expert or think about ways to incorporate the flavours of food you love into your daily routine until it becomes habit to eat those foods,” she said.

Food is one part

But food alone will not guarantee a longer, healthier life. Daily exercise is key — and it doesn’t have to be at a gym.

Studies find simply moving as often as you can each day, such as taking walks in nature, can improve health and reduce stress.

Other factors that will affect your longevity include stress management, getting around eight hours of quality sleep, and having close, loving relationships.

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Dessert night: Nine alternatives to ice-cream that are totally healthy

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In chaotic modern life, eating well and keeping the family’s nutrition on track does not have to translate into spending hours in the kitchen preparing food, nor does it have to mean multiple trips to the supermarket each week to pick up all the little extras.

Keeping your diet on track even at the busiest of times can be as simple as some strategic use of the family freezer.

When you have a ready supply of frozen fresh food, pre-made meals and key staples that can be used to throw a healthy meal together quickly, eating well becomes a whole lot easier.

And it is not only leftovers that can be frozen, rather there is a wide range of foods that can effectively be frozen to not only save money, prolong shelf life and reduce food waste, but to help ensure you are never having to rush to the shops at 8pm to grab the one thing you seem to be missing as you throw a quick dinner together. 

READ MORE: Changing your diet could add up to 13 years to your life, study says

Fruit

While we often think of berries as an easy and cost-effective food to keep a frozen supply of there are also plenty of other fruits that can be frozen easily.

Soft, overripe bananas can be thrown into the freezer and used in a range of baked goods and smoothies. Mango and other stone fruits freeze well, especially when chopped and sealed in an airtight bag.

Another smart fruit to chop and freeze when prices are low is avocado, which again can be used in multiple sweet and savoury dishes including smoothies, Mexican meals and even salads. 

Green veggies

You can literally find a frozen variety of every vegetable and with fresh produce snap frozen at time of harvest it is hard to go past frozen varieties from a cost and nutritional perspective.

While all veggies are good for us, it is the leafy greens like spinach and kale that are some of the smartest frozen options.

Not only are they relatively expensive and vulnerable to large seasonal fluctuations in price but they freeze well and can then easily be added into smoothies, juices, stir fries and casseroles to increase your intake if these nutrient rich superfoods.

READ MORE: The Mediterranean diet is (still) the best way to eat, declare nutrition experts

Fish

Forget old school fish fingers of the 1970’s. There is now a large range of frozen fish options including salmon and barramundi minus the heavy sauces that can be quickly grilled or steamed for a quick and easy dinner.

If you do prefer crumbed or battered fish varieties aim for packaged options that contain less than 10g of total fat per 100g.

A couple of pieces of oven baked fish is an inexpensive and nutritious dinner option that can be served with frozen veggies and ready in minutes. 

READ MORE: Using melatonin for sleep is on the rise, despite potential health harms

Leftovers

Back in the day freezers were used to freeze large supplies of meat that were bought in advance from the local butcher.

Fast-forward 20 to 30 years and we shop more frequently and have less time to plan ahead and defrost the chicken in time for the weekend roast.

In our time poor lives, rather than freezing raw ingredients, it makes more sense to freeze ready-to-go meals or even leftovers that can be reheated in the microwave and utilised as quick and easy meals.

Cheese

Another food we do not always think of when it comes to a freezer friendly option, but all types of hard cheese freeze exceptionally well and can be stored for six to nine months in an airtight container.

Best added to cooked dishes such as pastas, risotto, pizza, soup or omelettes, a frozen supply of Parmesan or cheddar means that you will never be left without a flavoursome addition to quick and easy meals like soup and eggs.

Author Susie Burrell is a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder of Shape Me, co-host of The Nutrition Couch podcast and prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.

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Changing what you eat could add up to 13 years to your life, according to a newly published study, especially if you start when you are young.

The study created a model of what might happen to a man or woman’s longevity if they replaced a “typical Western diet” focused on red meat and processed foods with an “optimised diet” focused on eating less red and processed meat and more fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.

If a woman began eating optimally at age 20, she could increase her lifespan by just over 10 years, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. A man eating the healthier diet from age 20 could add 13 years to his life.

READ MORE: The Mediterranean diet is (still) the best way to eat, declare nutrition experts

Focusing on a healthier diet could also lengthen the lives of older adults, the study said. By starting at age 60, a woman could still increase her lifespan by eight years. Men starting a healthier diet at age 60 might add nearly nine years to their lives.

A plant-based eating style could even benefit 80-year-olds, the study said: Men and women could gain about 3.5 years of extra life from dietary changes.

“The notion that improving diet quality would reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death is long established, and it only stands to reason that less chronic disease and premature death means more life expectancy,” Dr David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine and nutrition, who was not involved in the study, said.

Katz, the president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine, has published research on how to use food as preventive medicine.

“What they define as an ‘optimal’ diet is not quite optimal; it’s just a whole lot better than ‘typical,'” Katz said, adding that he felt diet could be “further improved, conferring even greater benefits.”

“My impression is that their ‘much improved’ diet still allowed for considerable doses of meat and dairy,” Katz said, adding that when his team scores diet quality objectively, “these elements are at quite low levels in the top tier.”

A model of longer life

To model the future impact of a person’s change of diet, researchers from Norway used existing meta-analyses and data from the Global Burden of Disease study, a database that tracks 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories around the world.

The largest gains in longevity were found from eating more legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils; whole grains, which are the entire seed of a plant; and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios, the study found.

READ MORE: Suffering from creaky joints? Boost your diet with these 14 anti-inflammatory foods

It may sound simple to add more plants and grains to your diet, but statistics show that Americans struggle to do so. A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found few Americans eat close to their daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables.

The CDC study found that only 12 per cent of adults consume one and a half to two cups of fruit each day, which is the amount recommended by the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

Only 10 per cent of Americans eat the recommended two to three cups of vegetables each day, including legumes.

About 50 per cent of grain consumption should be whole grains, yet over 95 per cent of Americans fail to meet that goal, according to the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, instead eating processed grains, which have been milled to remove the grain, bran and many nutrients, including fibre.

Over 50 per cent of Americans fail to eat the 5 grams (about a teaspoon) of recommended nuts and seeds each day, the guidelines said.

Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains contain more than just protein. They include healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant “phytochemicals” that have been associated with lower risk of chronic diseases.

Red and processed meats

Eating less red and processed meat such as bacon, sausage and preserved deli meats was also linked to longer life.

That makes good sense: Red and processed meats have been linked to significant health risks, including coronary heart disease and bowel cancer.

“There’s substantial evidence that processed meat can cause bowel cancer – so much so that the World Health Organisation has classified it as carcinogenic since 2015,” Oxford University epidemiologist Tim Key, a member of the UK Department of Health’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, told CNN in a prior interview.

Replacing red and processed meats with lean poultry, fish and plant proteins is one way to improve a diet quickly, experts say.

Plant proteins include soybeans (edamame), chickpeas, lentils and other legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, and whole grains like quinoa. Some vegetables, like broccoli, also contain higher levels of protein.

A 2020 study which tracked more than 37,000 middle-aged Americans found those who ate the most plant protein were 27 per cent less likely to die of any cause and 29 per cent less likely to die of coronary heart disease than people who ate the least amount of plant protein.

“The benefit is more pronounced when red and processed meats are replaced by plant protein sources,” study coauthor Dr Frank Hu, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health, told CNN in a prior interview.

How to improve your diet

One way to incorporate more plants into your diet and consume less red meat is with the Mediterranean diet, which has won best diet five years in a row, according to US News & World Report.

Tied for silver was the DASH diet, which stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, and the Flexitarian diet, which encourages being a vegetarian most of the time. All of these diets focus on meals full of fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

An easy way to start eating the Mediterranean way is to cook one meal each week based on beans, whole grains and vegetables, using herbs and spices to add punch. When one night a week is a breeze, add two, and build from there.

Lose weight, live longer: 10 unexpected benefits of the Mediterranean diet

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If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, options, and often contrasting or even conflicting advice surrounding what and how we eat, you aren’t alone.

If you can name a dietary approach, I’ve probably tried it in my time, giving everything from keto to plant-based or intermittent fasting to paleo a good crack.

If I’ve learned anything from years of experimenting and learning, it’s that there’s beauty in simplicity and that we are so prone to overcomplicating things in life — our eating, specifically, but also exercise, relationships, insert-life-category-here…

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At the start of a new year especially, there can be so much pressure to make grand and elaborate resolutions or new rules to stick to, but I find it much easier to aim for a simple concept of ‘balance’.

Now, I’ll admit ‘balance’ is such a wishy-washy concept that it sometimes sounds like a cop out, but the fact is, it reiterates the idea there is no magic solution that’s going to suit everyone (or even suit one person at all times of year).

Rather than setting myself prescriptive and inflexible rules that can lead to added anxiety, I think aiming for “balance” allows you to take little bits of naughty and nice without missing out on any good stuff. A flexitarian diet, if you will.

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Instead of focusing too strictly on what I eat, I put a lot more energy into how I eat and making sure I do that mindfully. Here are a few simple steps if you’re looking to achieve the same:

Make good choices

Make good choices when you’re shopping the first time around. I find we can sometimes be quite mindless and inattentive in the supermarket and fill the basket with things we don’t really want or choose ingredients we haven’t fully considered.

If you get off your phone while you’re wandering the aisles and make conscious choices at the point of buying, you won’t have those items in the house later when the 3pm sugar cravings hit.

What it means to eat mindfully

Eating mindfully doesn’t just mean being mindful of what you eat. It also means being mindful when you eat.

How many times have you scoffed down a meal while multitasking, and then still felt hungry later because your brain didn’t register the meal?

Being distracted while you eat can not only take the joy away from the experience but lead you to overeat, eat too quickly, or chew insufficiently, which causes digestion problems. The easiest trick for me is to ask am I eating, or am I eating and watching/scrolling/listening?

Try eating in silence and really focusing on the flavour, texture, and aroma of your food. It really helps me recognise when I’m full, let alone learning to enjoy the art of mealtimes more so.

Hunger vs thirst

Another factor that’s sometimes forgotten is how much our eating and hunger is affected by drinking.

Often hunger is actually thirst, so make sure you’re hydrating sufficiently — everything is better when it’s watered! Brain function, energy levels, skin quality… so much is impacted by how much H2O you’re consuming.

There are my three simple steps for learning to eat more mindfully.

Stop worrying about diets and detoxes, just learn good from bad and create a healthy balance. Happy eating!

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Annabel Sutherland is one of Australia’s most promising all-rounder cricketers making her Test debut as a teenager just one year ago.

Sutherland, from Melbourne, is known for her all-rounder talent with the bat and ball, and was one of the youngest players to debut in the Big Bash League at just 15.

The now 20-year-old is causing a stir on the international stage, with her fastball efforts helping to deny England an Ashes win at the recent One Day International.

With a keen focus on the pitch, gruelling length of matches and juggling study, it’s a wonder how Sutherland fits it all in.

Recently we spoke to Sutherland to find out what her typical day on a plate looks like. You might be surprised just how much you eat like an athlete too, particularly when it comes to a sweet treat. 

READ MORE: NBA star Ben Simmons’ impressive day on a plate

Breakfast

Usually I start my day with a coffee. And at the moment I’ve been cooking up two poached eggs on two pieces of toast with avocado and some fresh tomato.

Mid-morning snacks

My mid-morning snack varies pending on what training looks like. Usually I’ll fit it in around skills/gym as I don’t want to be eating right before I train as that doesn’t sit too well as I run around. My go-to snacks on training days include a banana, Chobani or YoPRO yoghurt, muesli bar, Rokeby/Oak plus milk.  

Lunch

Usually I’ll have a sandwich, wrap or toasted sandwich, which is easy to have on a training day. Every now and again my teammates and I will treat ourselves to a cafe feed during a break in training for lunch. I love a smashed avo or on a hot day an açai bowl goes down nicely! 

READ MORE: Ian Thorpe’s day on a plate

Afternoon snacks

I love a bowl of cereal post training, which is not your typical time of day to have cereal but there’s something about it — I enjoy Weet-Bix and Special K in particular. I do also like a smoothie, which is another option might have. I’ll add some protein powder to the smoothie along with raspberries and milk to make sure I top up my protein intake, especially for days I’ve been lifting weights.  

Dinner

Dinner for me changes a lot night to night, I enjoy having variety in my dinner meals but they always usually contain some portion of protein, carbs and vegetables/salad. Some recent examples include salmon with a sweet potato salad, prawn pasta with vegetables or lamb cutlets with roast vegetables/potato and salad. There’s a few cooks in the house so it depends who is cooking on a given night and what their go to dinner meal is! 

Dessert

I don’t often have dessert, but when I am feeling like something sweet to top off the day, I love some ice cream. Cookies and cream has got to be up there as a favourite. I also love some mango, particularly in the summer, goes well with the ice cream too! 

READ MORE: Samantha Jade’s day on a plate

On game day, what changes do you make to your diet?

Game day is pretty important for me, particularly as a fast bowler to make sure I fuel appropriately to get me through with the right amount of energy for the day. Not quite as important for the T20 format given its shorter duration, but for 50-over matches I put a big focus on making sure I get enough in to keep my energy levels up throughout the day. Breakfast is massively important to make sure I get a big meal in to set me up for the day ahead, making sure I get a good amount of carbs in particular. 

Things change pending on whether we bowl or bat first, but throughout the bowling innings I make sure I keep my fluids up, drinking lots of water, Hydralyte or Gatorade especially if it’s a warm day. I will also snack on something that’s easy to eat during the innings in a drinks break (some examples include a banana, muesli bar or peanut butter and honey sandwich). 

The innings break or the lunch break is the next big meal to prepare for the second innings, as an allrounder I need to keep my energy up for the batting innings so again try to get a good amount of food in with something easy to eat like a sandwich or wrap and a smoothie. 

Post-match is another important time where I’ll eat something and then finishing off with dinner and continuing to replenish fluids later that afternoon or night. 

When training, how do you like to fuel your body?

Different types of training days require different quantities. On bigger days, we typically have a main training session in the nets and then we also gym and run. These days are similar to match days where I’ll need to be eating something substantial every few hours to make sure I’m fuelling my body enough to keep up with the energy demands of a full training day. On lighter days I’ll focus on my pre and post workout meals to make I’m both prepared and recovered but keep it pretty simple besides that. 

How does your diet vary during the offseason?

My diet doesn’t change too much over off season, if anything I’ll probably have a few more days off so it’s just being aware of my activity each day and how that balances with what I’m eating. It’s still really important to fuel my body throughout the off-season, eating three proper meals a day and snacking well to set myself up for pre-season and the season ahead. 

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Fitness trends you should join in 2022

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This year you’re bound to encounter yet another new fad diet that promises fast weight-loss (“All you have to do is consume nothing but xx for two weeks!”) or miracle health (“I’ve started taking an elephant toenail supplement, and my skin is glowing!”)

Ignore these too-good-to-be-true schemes. Instead, consider the Mediterranean diet.

This popular way of eating, inspired by the lifestyles in countries around the Mediterranean, has been named the best overall diet of 2022 in US News and World Report’s annual consumer ranking — the fifth year in the row it’s topped the list, which was determined by polling dozens of nutrition experts for their opinions on 40 popular diets.

“With its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, olive oil, fish and other healthy fare, the Mediterranean diet is eminently sensible,” noted US News in its round-up.

Sensible isn’t exactly the most compelling description, but the Mediterranean diet is linked to extremely compelling health benefits that include improved heart health, a lower risk of cancer and dementia, and yes, weight loss.

READ MORE: Beginner’s guide to mastering the Mediterranean diet

The pros of the Mediterranean diet, noted US News, are that it’s “nutritionally sound” and allows for “diverse foods and flavours”. However, the panel of experts conceded the Mediterranean diet is “moderately pricey” and demands “lots of grunt work”.

Some simple ways to start the Mediterranean diet include incorporating lots of olive oil, servings of vegetables and/or salad with every meal, regular meals of beans (perhaps in a soup) and fish (particularly salmon), as well as social eating — such as meals at the table with your friends and family, rather than eating on the couch while watching TV. (Consult a dietitian or nutritionist for more help getting started.)

READ MORE: Mediterranean diet scores another win for longevity by improving microbiome

The other diets that made US News’s top five of 2022 were the DASH diet and the flexitarian diet, in equal second place; the MIND diet; and the Mayo Clinic diet.

So which diets were at the bottom of the list?

In equal last place were the GAPS diet, a detox that cuts out grains and sugars; and the “too restrictive” Dukan diet. The popular-but-flawed keto diet and the Whole30 diet also scored poorly — so get an expert opinion before embarking on any of those.

READ NEXT: Want to give your training a little boost? Try the Mediterranean diet

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Lose weight, live longer: 10 unexpected benefits of the Mediterranean diet

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You may love nothing more than your weekend café breakfast, or it may be lunchtime that you are most often found at your favourite local coffee haunt, but chances are you are familiar with your local café in some capacity.

While it may seem like a healthier option to grab food on the go at a café as opposed to a fast-food drive through, truth be told, while there may be some ‘healthy’ café options, when it comes to calories, fats and sugars there are plenty to be found in some of our favourite café menu items.

READ MORE: The right way to lighten up your dinner

With the average Australian adult needing just 1200-1600 calories each day, calorie control is important — and with popular breakfast bowls and jumbo sandwiches containing 600-800 calories per serve, it is easy to overdo things when you pick up a snack with your coffee.

So, whether your favourite order is at breakfast or lunch, here are some easy swaps to slash the calories of your standard café order.

Instead of: Eggs Benedict
Try: Eggs on toast with vege sides

A Sunday morning favourite, a standard serve of eggs Bene and a side of bacon contains more than 1300 calories and 100g of fat in a single serve, thanks to the creamy sauce and fat used in cooking.

On the other hand, an order of poached eggs, roasted tomato and avocado contains just 30g of fat, along with loads more dietary fibre and nutrients overall.

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Instead of: Ham and cheese croissant
Try: Ham and cheese toastie

One of the most energy-dense foods we consume is pastry, and when this is teamed with butter, ham and cheese your ‘light’ breakfast on the run becomes a complete calorie bomb.

With more than 500 calories and 30g of fat in a single serve, you can get a much more nutritious and filling breakfast option if you opt for a toastie on wholegrain bread.

Instead of: Acai bowl
Try: Bircher muesli

A popular breakfast item with its fresh fruit and grains, it is no wonder this visually appealing breakfast would be considered healthy. When you consider, though, that the average acai bowl contains 500-600 calories and 60-80g of sugars thanks to the mix of juice and concentrated fruit syrup, an acai is more like a dessert than a healthy breakfast option.

If you love a breakfast bowl, Bircher muesli is a much better option nutritionally with far less sugar and much more dietary fibre.

READ MORE: The forgotten reason why diets rarely work long term

Instead of: Chicken Caesar salad
Try: Chicken Greek salad

The word salad lures us in, and indeed if you make a salad at home for yourself and use lighter dressings, lean protein and small amounts of cheese and creamy sauces, you can make a healthy version of a Caesar salad. The mix of high fat ingredients mean the average Caesar salad contains at least 30g of fat.

Greek salad with chicken, on the other hand, is much lower in calories and fat.

Instead of: Banana bread
Try: Biscotti

One of the most popular menu items at the local café, banana bread seems like a relatively innocent add-on to accompany your coffee order. Yet, really, it should be called banana cake, with the average slice slab sold in cafes containing more calories than a meal (500-600cal) thanks to the mix of butter or oil, white flour and sugar.

If you love nothing more than to enjoy something sweet with your coffee, seek out biscotti, if stocked at your local, which can contain as little as 100 calories and less than 5g of fat.

READ MORE: Gained weight over the holidays? Here’s what to do next

Instead of: Smoothies
Try: Iced coffee

If you made a smoothie at home with a little milk, yoghurt and fresh fruit, your smoothie would contain a respectable 200-300 calories and 20-30g of sugars. On the other hand, a large acai or mango smoothie, which combines honey, milk, yoghurt and fruit, can give as much as 60-80g of sugars or 12-16 teaspoons per serve.

On the other hand, a simple mix of ice, coffee and skim milk is equally as refreshing for a lot less sugar. Or for those who are not fussed on coffee, a vegetable juice is a nutrient-rich, low-calorie option.

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New Year brings with it some old circumstances: working from home, self-isolating again, and having close access to food almost all of the time.

Some of us may enjoy more home-cooked meals and not having to walk too far for a snack, but working close to the refrigerator poses a challenge to maintaining healthy eating habits.

Rest assured, there are ways to minimise mindless snacking and filling up on empty calories, even when you can’t socially distance from your kitchen cabinet.

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After years of nutrition counselling, I see that that my clients’ judgement about their eating is a big predictor of future behaviors. If you berate yourself for overeating, it can cause you to go down a spiral of feeling bad, which can lead to more emotional eating. On the flip side, being gentle with yourself can help you establish a healthier mindset when it comes to indulgences, and this can allow for a more balanced lifestyle.

I have found that incorporating mindful strategies around eating — which aren’t about judgement — can be very helpful for those struggling with “unconscious” eating. Below are some practical tips that can help you minimise unnecessary snacking and get the most enjoyment from food.

Stop, think, eat

Before grabbing that cookie or bag of chips, stop and ask yourself, “Do I really want this now?” or “Am I craving this food because I’m hungry or because I’m bored or stressed?” Think it through — if you do want a snack, go for it. But if your answer is no, you’ve stopped yourself from excessive nibbling. The idea is to make the choice to eat a conscious decision.

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The hunger meter is a tool that incorporates the “stop, think, eat” strategy, as it allows you to pause and gauge your level of hunger before eating. If you are reaching for a snack but realise that you are not really hungry, you may be craving something else, according to Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and coauthor of How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder. Try going for a walk, taking a shower, calling a friend, or taking a nap.

Fill your kitchen with fibre-rich foods

It’s pretty difficult to mindlessly munch on high-fibre foods like vegetables, salads and fruits. That’s because fibre contributes “bulk” and fills you up quickly. Fibre-rich foods also help to keep your blood sugar levels steady, which can help prevent impulsive snacking and overeating at meals.

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Don’t bring it home

The decisions you make at the point of purchase greatly predict your ability to stay on track. Simply put, if you bring it home, you will eat it. If you don’t want to derail your diet goals, leave snacks that will sabotage your efforts in the grocery aisle.

Practice portion control

When choosing snacks, avoid bulk-size bags that easily enable mindless nibbling. Go for pre-portioned snacks, or if you wish to buy larger bags, portion the snacks at home in small bags or containers.

Schedule meal and snack times. It’s important, especially when working from home, to stop and take a break to eat. Even better, plan ahead what it is you will eat for lunch or for a snack. Honouring your food breaks will help you avoid cravings and will give more structure to the day. It will also help you avoid nervous nibbling during stressful work.

Plan for intentional indulgences

Similar to planning for meals, you can plan for a splurge. I most often think of these indulgences in relation to birthday parties or dinners out (think a piece of decadent chocolate cake), but even during everyday situations, planning for treats can help to minimise preoccupation with sweets and prevent overeating. If you are craving chocolate, set aside a few Hershey’s kisses to eat after lunch. If you love pizza, enjoy it once a week for lunch or dinner. This can help to minimise obsessive thoughts about these foods, too, because you have given yourself permission to enjoy them.

15 healthy snack alternatives to curb your sugar cravings

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Get rid of distractions

Scrolling through social media or watching Netflix while eating takes the focus away from your food and prevents you from registering when you are full. In fact, people who played a game of solitaire on a computer while eating ate faster, ate nearly twice as much and felt less full than people who were not distracted while eating, according to a study that registered dietitian Lisa Young cites in her book Finally Full, Finally Slim. Put away all screens, phones and anything that will prevent you from being present while eating.

Close the kitchen

Decide when the kitchen will be “closed for the day,” and shut off the lights and close any doors. This can be very helpful in avoiding nighttime nibbling.

Other tips worth trying

Here are some other tips that can help you with mindless snacking:

Take a tea break

Sipping tea can also help to keep cravings at bay.

“Drinking herbal tea with a little honey provides a speed bump; it makes you think for a minute about having a snack or meal that may be unnecessary,” registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix previously told CNN.

Keep a food and mood journal

Writing down what you eat and how you feel at the time can help you identify triggers and minimise impulsive snacking. Additionally, writing down your daily diet at the start of each day can give you more structure and keep you on track.

Get enough sleep

Not getting enough sleep can cause us to consume up to 800 extra calories, according to a recent study. It’s thought that sleep deprivation may cause our hormones to stimulate hunger, and/or suppress hormone signals associated with fullness. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

You can gradually take on these 12 tips by working in one or two strategies into your routine every week. This approach will help you ease into eating more mindfully.

Lisa Dryer, an award-winning nutrionist and journalist, is a health and nutrition contributor for CNN.

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The best snacks to eat when you are working from home

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With more than half a million Aussies currently dealing with COVID-19, chances are you know someone battling the virus.

While some of us are lucky enough to experience only minor symptoms, plenty more are left feeling extremely tired, with chronic headaches, respiratory distress and even digestive discomfort thanks to the ghastly virus.

One of the defining characteristics of COVID-19 is the inflammatory effect it has on the body’s systems, especially the lungs, and from a dietary perspective there are a number of ways to support a reduction in inflammation in the body. So, whether you are feeling fine, or quite under the weather with COVID-19, here are the foods to reach for, and the ones to avoid.

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The best foods for COVID-19

Fresh fruit

Not only does fruit have a high water content to support hydration, but fruit is a rich source of a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that plays a key role in supporting immune function and including a vitamin C-rich food at each meal and snack is an easy way to support your recovery from COVID-19.

Some of the best fruit options are kiwi fruit, berries, stone fruit, mangoes and oranges, but any fruit is a nutritious choice. If you find yourself struggling to eat solid food, fruit smoothies are an easy to drink, nutrient-rich alternative.

Vegetable juice

While we tend to reach for fruit juice, it is an extremely concentrated source of sugars. Vegetable-based juices, on the other hand, mean you can combine plenty of vitamin- and nutrient-rich vegetables in a light, refreshing drink.

As a general rule of thumb, the brighter the colour of the veges, the richer the nutrient content, so think beetroot, spinach, kale, carrot and capsicum for a delicious vitamin hit. If you find plain vegetable juices a little harsh on the palate, try blending three to four different vegetables with one piece of fruit and loads of ice for a refreshing drink. My personal favourite is beetroot, celery, carrot and orange.

READ MORE: Anthony Callea details ‘excruciating’ battle with COVID-19

Seafood

If you are able to tolerate solid food, while you may be tempted to order in and indulge in comfort food, nutritionally you will be much better to enjoy more seafood. Whether you prefer Omega-3-rich salmon, delicious Aussie prawns, some fresh oysters or mussels, not only is seafood rich in protein and key nutrients, it also contains loads of zinc. Zinc plays an integral role in immune function and is a nutrient many Aussies do not get enough of.

Fermented foods

When you think of foods that benefit immune function, kefir or sauerkraut may not be at the top of your list, but the more we learn about immune system, the more we come to understand that much of our immune function is determined by our digestive health.

Foods that are a source of probiotics, the live cultures that nourish a healthy gut, are a must-add into your diet when the goal is to support immunity. Plain yoghurts with cultures, kefir, miso and fermented vegetables are some of the natural sources of probiotics, while you can also find a range of supplements at pharmacies and health food stores.

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Foods to avoid

Fast food

Days on end spent at home can mean we reach for a little more home-delivered comfort food, but when you have COVID-19, it is not the time to indulge in high-fat, fast food meals. Fried in processed vegetable oils and high in saturated fats, refined carbs and sugars, processed fast food is one of the worst foods to indulge in when you are trying to reduce inflammation in the body.

Snack food

Whether you tend to reach for biscuits snack bars, chips or chocolate, processed snacks are sources of processed vegetable oils and sugars, both of which increase inflammation in the body. Fresh, natural unprocessed snacks to opt for instead include fruit, hummus, popcorn, nuts and seeds.

Sweet drinks

There is a big difference between a home-made smoothie or juice and soft drinks, vitamin and coconut waters, slushies and jumbo blends of fruit, syrups and sugary-flavoured milks, which can add 60 to 80g of sugars per serve.

Concentrated sugars are one of the worst things we can consume if the goal is to reduce inflammation in the body.

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Want to start eating healthier? Follow these 10 simple steps

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With research suggesting that the average person gains a couple of kilos at Christmas time — and rarely loses it — you could be forgiven for starting 2022 with a little extra weight on board.

While new year dieting campaigns heavily target consumers throughout the first few weeks of January, with many of us still enjoying holidays, it’s rarely the best time to begin an aggressive new diet and exercise campaign. Rather, waiting until the Christmas dust has settled and taking time to choose the right diet for you is a far more powerful strategy to rid yourself of any extra Christmas kilos for good.

So if one of your goals for 2022 is to get your diet and lifestyle on track, here are some easy steps towards sustainable weight loss.

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1. Pick your time

Weight loss is the most common New Year’s resolution, yet it’s the worst time to commit to a new diet. If losing weight is on your list for 2022, simply waiting until mid-to-late January, or even February, is one of the smartest things you can do.

Here, you have time to enjoy your holidays, gradually get back into training and get organised enough to be able to focus fully on calorie-controlled eating to help you get the results you are wanting long-term. This approach is far more effective than the most commonly adopted alternative, in which we diet strictly for a day or two after New Year’s Eve before promptly falling off the wagon — which really is a big waste of time.

2. Pick your plan

Any diet — paleo, keto, low-carb, Atkins, 5:2, 16:6, to name a few — will work when followed, but the issue with most diets is that while they may work initially, they are rarely followed long enough to give you the results you are looking for. So as the new year rolls around, take some time to really consider what plan will be right for you, long-term.

Do you need the support of a dietitian to touch base regularly and support you? Do you know that strict diets do not work for you and are better with a more moderate approach? Or with your lifestyle, will you find it easier to be strict a few days each week rather than every single day? Matching the right diet to the right person is crucial if you want any weight loss success maintained.

READ MORE: The forgotten reason why diets rarely work long term

3. Focus on what you should be eating, even now

Diets often focus on what foods we should eat less of and avoid, and naturally the more we are told not to do something… well, you know the rest. In the case of calorie-controlled eating, this means that the easiest thing we can all do immediately to lower calorie intake is to focus on low-calorie foods for building the foundation of the diet.

Here, the simple act of adding extra veggies to each meal — for example, a veggie juice at breakfast, salad at lunch and cooked veggies at dinner — will instantly lower the overall calorie load of the diet, while actually eating more and supporting weight loss. And best of all there is no need to wait until mid-to-late January to start doing this.

4. Become reacquainted with hunger

Human beings rarely eat because they are hungry, rather we eat because it is meal time, because others are eating or because tempting foods are on offer.

Not only does non-hungry eating fuel calorie overconsumption, but it also means that we are less likely to buffer our calorie intake when we have overeaten. When there are plenty of extra calories around, and mindless munching on snacks, treats, alcoholic drinks and party food is highly likely, it’s a great time to get in touch with your hunger. All you need to do is ask yourself if you are really, really hungry before food enters your mouth, and when you have overeaten, make a concerted effort to only eat again when you are actually feeling hungry. It is an incredibly simple strategy but a very effective one.

5. Get a buddy

We are social creatures and are often spending many hours of our lives with the same people, whether this translates into family, friends or workmates. While it is possible to develop laser-beam focus when you are adopting a new diet and exercise regime, things become a whole lot easier when the people around you are too committed to these same goals. This means that getting your partner, bestie or work wife on board with any major change to your daily diet or exercise will not only make it much easier to keep focused but you can then naturally play the part of each other’s cheerleader when times are tough. This is just one of the reasons that online community weight loss programs work so well — you are all talking the same language and working through the same challenges. Finding your own community will make long-term weight loss in 2022 a whole lot easier.

Author Susie Burrell is a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder of Shape Me, and prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.

Empty calories: Foods low on nutrients but high on weight gain

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