Blog - 26 August 2021
Wake up. Coffee. Get the kids ready. Eat. Make sure the kids eat. Pack lunches. Tantrum #1. Kids still aren’t ready. Get in the car. Tantrum #2. School drop-off. Get to work.
Sounds familiar? Or at least a distant memory before working from home and online school became the norm.
Managing this sometimes-hectic routine can be a lot, which means eating well can easily become a low priority. When we put healthy eating low on our priority list, it can create unhealthy behaviour that impacts other elements of our lives, like sleep, activity, and mood.
Let’s discuss why maintaining healthy eating habits is important for you and your family’s daily routine.
Healthy eating habits involve nourishing our bodies with food at regular and consistent times throughout the day. It’s different for everyone. However, it likely means eating:
I have recently shared a blog post that showcases the importance of fuelling your body with food, but I wanted to discuss what it means to implement and maintain healthy eating habits to meet your energy needs.
Our bodies require a baseline amount of energy to support our day-to-day activities. A good way to manage our energy needs is to make sure you eat in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening.
Eating nutritious food in a routine can help regulate our bodies feeling of hunger and satiety (feeling full).
By implementing a healthy eating routine that provides sustenance at regular times throughout the day, your body will be better able to manage hunger and feelings of fullness. Many factors impact our hunger levels and feeling of fullness, like stress, age, body type, exercise, and activity levels. In saying that, implementing a healthy eating routine is one of the best ways to support your hunger regulation.
Managing your hunger through a healthy eating routine ensures you are not undereating nor overeating across your day.
Just say you usually eat three meals a day - one day you happen to skip breakfast. Your body will likely feel depleted because you have missed a time where you would usually nourish your body with food. But you don’t notice because you are busy with work, life, school, and afterschool activities. Come lunchtime, your starving, so big lunch it is, and then later, reasonably sized dinner.
Then after dinner, you find yourself a little bit irritable, your tummy rumbles, and you wonder why. So, you reach for a snack, your tummy is saying “I’m hungry!!!, feed me!!” It’s late in the night and those magnums in the freezer are looking so good right about now. So, you have one…. or two.
Skipping meals can mean that you reach for an energy-dense snack, which over time can create a problem with overeating. Otherwise, you don't get the magnum, and you go to bed hungry. Besides the fact that it’s not a nice feeling anyway, getting up and getting going the next morning just becomes even harder, the pressure builds, you’re rushing again, breaky gets skipped, and the cycle repeats.
The Healthy Eating, Dietitian Approved Cookbook has been prepared by Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Kelly Bramble. There are options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks.
Implementing healthy eating habits, like a nourishing and sustaining breakfast, can help avoid unhelpful food choices. Don’t get me wrong, I think an after-dinner snack can be a part of your healthy eating routine. However, it is when you haven’t nourished your body across the day, that the possibility of overeating in the evening can become problematic.
I’ve created a family-friendly recipe book to have under your wing that includes nutritious and delicious recipes that don’t cost you an arm or a leg. They are simple, dietitian-approved recipes so you know they can support your family’s needs. Download the Healthy Eating, Dietitian Approved Cookbook now.
Implementing a healthy eating routine filled with good habits can help show your children what it means to nourish your body. Eating good food consistently supports you and your family’s ability to live healthy and sustaining lives.
If you would like to get creative in the kitchen with your own recipe, enter The Experimental Cookbook competition. Entries close 30th August 2021 so get your cooking hats on now!
Kelly Bramble is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian who is passionate about providing realistic, meaningful, and personalised nutrition advice to her clients, whilst maintaining a non-diet approach. She encourages a lifestyle free from fad-diets and conflicting health information. She believes that sharing knowledge and education is one of the most important factors in achieving healthy eating and lifestyle outcomes for people.