Introduction
So, what happens to your body when you start eating healthy? Here are some things you’ll notice immediately, and hopefully, you’ll keep eating healthy in the future.
Now, I was thinking about this the other day when I was watching a lecture about climate change. You might say, well, what does climate change have to do with eating healthy?
The whole point of this lecture was that climate change doesn’t necessarily impact you right where you are at that time. The impacts regarding climate change and how it relates to you are distant—maybe somebody who lives far away, maybe 20 years in the future, or even your grandkids.
It’s really hard to make yourself change for things that are not impacting you immediately. We all have this problem. If you put your hand on the stove and it hurts, you’re going to take your hand away and never touch it again. But if you eat some sugary foods and 30 years later you’re at risk for a heart attack, that’s a much harder association to make and change to make based on those things.
So today, I’m going to give you some things that you can pay attention to that may happen quickly so you can be motivated to make healthy changes and continue eating healthy.
You Will Start Wanting Healthier Foods
Believe it or not, the more you start eating healthy foods, the more you’ll crave them. Your body will get used to them. You just have to get over that initial hump, and then your body will keep asking for you to continue eating healthy.
You Will Feel Better by Eating Healthy
Pay attention to how you feel after you have a big, heavy meal or fast food—you probably don’t feel so good. But if you’ve eaten a lighter meal that still tastes good but doesn’t have so many calories, fat, or salt, your body will actually feel better, especially if you’ve made that food at home.
Eating healthy can have an immediate impact on your energy levels and digestion. Pay attention to your body—it will tell you how you feel after you eat. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that eating healthy makes you feel better.
You Will Feel More Confident When You Start Eating Healthy
How does confidence relate to eating healthy? When you make a decision and change something to better your health, you’re going to be proud of yourself.
And you should be because it’s not easy. Making a decision to go on a walk, exercise, or create a healthy meal will make you feel better about yourself. Not only will your body feel better, but you’re going to be more confident, and you’ll want to keep making decisions that maintain that confidence.
Just think about the last time you made a delicious meal that was good for you or the last time you went to the gym. Think about the lasting effects of making that decision on your psyche. It’s really important—you’ll notice a difference immediately.
Your Gut Health Will Improve With Eating Healthy
This may not be something that you notice immediately, but we as physicians are noting more and more how important the gut microbiome is.
Eating healthy can improve your gut microbiome, which may play a role in anything from immunity to brain health, anxiety, and depression. In addition to possibly helping all these other things in your body, you’ll also have less bloating and may be more regular.
These are important things that can affect you on a day-to-day basis, and I want you to pay attention to them.
Conclusion
Did I convince you to start eating healthy? I hope so.
I hope that I at least gave you some ideas about what to pay attention to in your own body when making decisions to help benefit your health.
Making daily decisions to cook food at home, use less salt, fat, and sugar—there are many small choices you can make that will have immediate impacts.
It’s much more difficult to make changes based on things that might happen far in the future, so focus on the immediate changes. Look for the effects you see within hours, minutes, and days from eating something healthier.
