I have been on my fitness and weight loss journey now since 2020 and if I am honest I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked and I know the reason and that is what I am planning to change from this year. I have the workout side more or less nailed now and I am moving more however, it is the nutrition side of things. When it comes to eating I have never had the best diet and I now know just how important it is to fix this so that I can start making the progress I know I am more than capable of.

My diet has never been the best for a number of reasons and one of the main reasons is that believe it or not I am a pretty fussy eater, I stick to what I know and don't really sway away from those foods. Unfortunately those foods that I do stick with are just not the most nutritious and I know if I just tried some different healthier foods I could see the weight dropping whilst also discovering new favourite foods. I will be 100% honest I am sick of eating rubbish, if we eat well for a few days back to back I feel great and I can tell a difference in my body but throw in a takeaway and I start to feel ill and my skin breaks out once more, plus those takeaways we do get I don't even enjoy it is just a case of getting them for the sake of it which not only doesn't help my fitness journey but doesn't help the whole savings side of things either. 

After a long day at work the last thing I want to do is stand cooking and I make that known to poor Liam who ends up doing 90% of the cooking and on those days we are both being lazy we just order in or head out for something to eat and I know I need to step up and put that laziness to one side so that I can get the food in that I need to be eating but in the past I just haven't been able to do so yet and I always find myself making excuses but this will definitely be changing now as I get a lot more serious about my journey, I know what needs to change and how to do it. I don't think it helps that we stick to the same meals weekly either, it is rare we add anything new into our meals for the week and I think we just get sick of certain meals which leads to us ordering in once more. 

We both know now though that something needs to change when it comes to what we eat and here is what I am planning to do to finally get my nutrition under control and make that progress I am hoping for...

Smaller portion sizes

Having smaller portion sizes is definitely a big thing I need to change. With only 2 of us in the house some meals could honestly feed 4 yet we make sure we eat it all there and then. Smaller portion sizes would definitely benefit me in the long run plus most of the meals we make would make good lunches the following day. Just such a simple cutback could help so much.

Try new foods

This is mainly for trying different fruits and vegetables as at the moment my diet is seriously lacking of them and I need to change this. I know that by adding these it will aid my digestion, immune system and so much more but this is where the fussy eating comes in there are only a few I can tolerate. I am going to try add in one new fruit or vegetable into each week and hopefully this will help me discover new nutritious foods that I actually like. 

Use the air fryer more

My parents treated us to an air fryer towards the end of last year and we haven't used it as much as I would like if I am honest. I am determined to use it a whole lot more though as I can make so much in here and it is definitely healthier than frying foods and is just so much easier to use. I can even make myself so healthy snacks in here so it is going to be something that gets used more often from now on. I am sure I will post some of my makes on social media so keep an eye out for those. 

Cook books

Rather than eating the same meals week in week out I want to start using the many cook books we own to try new meals that we would both enjoy. This will just add more variety into our diet and mean that we are trying something we probably wouldn't have done previously. I am going to try aim for 1 new recipe per week to start with and see how it goes from there, we have plenty of cook books to work through and I am excited to try new meals and mix our weeks up a bit.

Make healthy swaps

This is a big one especially when it comes to snacking, at the moment I will more or less inhale a big bar of chocolate and I know that this is halting progress so I am going to change this. Rather than chocolate, crisps and other unhealthy snacks all the time I will be reducing these and swapping them for things such as skinny bars, fruit and even homemade snacks such as healthier cookies or brownies. These healthy swaps will soon add up and to be honest I look forward to making my own foods from time to time. 

Make more of an effort in the kitchen

If I make more of an effort in the kitchen we are honestly less likely to order in as poor Liam wont be left to cook every single evening. Just by sharing the effort we will no doubt cut back on eating out and ordering in as we are less likely to be lazy and pass on our cooking day as we won't be cooking eery single day and taking it in turns will just reduce that workload etc. 

Make better choices when eating out

I am one of these people who goes out for a meal and orders the biggest thing on the menu just because they can and I will be honest I am sick of doing this as it really ruins my progress and puts me about 10 steps backwards every time I do it. Most places have the calories on the menu these days so I can chose something I like which also fits in my calories for the day rather than opting for something 3 times my daily calories just for the sake of it. It might also help me find new favourite meals.

Meal prep & plan

By meal prepping I will be guaranteed at least a good nutritious lunch and it will 100% taste nicer than a meal deal whilst also costing me less so it will help with my budget. I waste so much money on meal deals I don't enjoy so an hours meal prep on a weekend will ensure I can have a good healthy lunch that I am really going to enjoy. When it comes to meals on an evening if we have plan in place we are a lot more likely to stick to what we have written down plus it is something to get excited for as we know what we will be eating each day and will also prepare us for who is cooking each evening. 

I am really hoping that putting all these changes in place will really help me get my nutrition under control at long last whilst helping me discover more nutritious foods. It should also help my bank account look a lot healthier each month as I won't be wasting money on eating out and pointless. I am taking control of what I eat and I am looking forward to seeing what sort of difference is made on my fitness & weight loss journey by making these changes. 

It is time to take control of my nutrition and start making this progress.