You're an adventurer. You're an explorer. You love discovering unknown places and obscure activities. You want an experience. If this describes your personality, it probably describes your appetite too. Of course, the challenge of living an adventurous lifestyle is trying everything the world offers while maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. While this sounds like a daunting task, it doesn't have to be difficult. There are three habits you can start right now that will help you stay fit while exploring the menus of the world.
Enjoy a Seafood-Based Diet
The first step to having a balanced and healthy diet is building the foundation of your diet of something healthy, tasty, and sustainable. Fresh seafood is the best protein class to use as the building blocks of your diet, particularly salmon and white fish such as cod and halibut. These fish have a generous serving of protein, relatively low-fat content, and are extremely flavorful and versatile. The health benefits of these fish go well beyond the nutrition label. The natural oils in these fish increase brain function, improve skin quality, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Additionally, seafood can be one of the most sustainably raised animal protein sources. While there has been ... and continues to be ... issues with over fishing in certain parts of the world, regulations that are in place today for fishing grounds such as Alaska and the Gulf Coast make seafood a great choice. While wild caught with proper regulation is a great option, farm raised fish can also contribute to this objective as well.
Clearly, you can't go wrong basing your diet on the fish. Now the task becomes getting good quality cuts of fresh fish. You could go to the seafood counter at your local grocery store, but there's a lot of information you don't know about their fish. When was it caught? How long did it spend on transport? Where did it come from? Are the fish farmed or wild-caught? These affect the quality of the fish and will ultimately decide the outcome of your meal experience. Accept Compromises for Better Health
Even for the fittest people on Earth, temptations to eat unhealthy foods are hard to ignore. You hear a lot about mental toughness and discipline to squash these temptations, but maybe that's not the right approach. Instead of ignoring temptations, recognize and acknowledge them. Use this as an opportunity to make a compromise and satisfy your craving without destroying your diet.
For example, let's say you're out to lunch and someone at the table over has a taco platter that looks too good! You want it too, and you CAN have it! Consider the fact that the beef is the taco already fatty and probably cooked in fatty oil. Also, acknowledge the tortilla shell is a high-carb food. With that information in mind, make a compromise and ask for a vegetable side to replace the chips and salsa the tacos normally come with. This slight change completely alters the composition of the dish and makes it a heck of a lot more doable.
While, yes, it's probably not a perfectly healthy meal, but it's still better than what it would've been. Also, knowing that you're having a nice lean piece of fish for dinner allows you to splurge a bit at lunch with no guilt. However, sometimes compromise is not an option, and that's why this third habit is crucial to maintaining a healthy and balanced diet while remaining adventurous.
Moderation Is Key!
This most often applies to dessert, but it can be true for main dishes such as fried chicken or heavy pasta dishes. An adventurous diet must have room for exploration without strict boundaries. This means you can't label anything "off-limits." There needs to be room for moderation. The best way to do this is through a tasting. You don't need an entire piece of cake to appreciate the confection. One or two reasonable bites are enough to satisfy cravings and curiosity while preserving your diet.
Having this flexibility makes a balanced diet worth it. There's no point in being healthy if you're absolutely miserable and restricted from trying new foods. Learning how to taste, developing the self-control to only have a couple of bites, and appreciating moderation for the world it opens to your diet are valuable skills for everyone. They are especially important for anyone who wants to explore the world through their taste buds while staying healthy.
So go discover the world through fish, compromise, and moderation. You won't be disappointed!
