Three Easy Changes You Can Make Today to Meet Your Long-Term Diet Goals

(StatePoint) The biggest hurdles to sticking to a new diet are convenience and flavor. Who wants to eat food that doesn’t taste good or is hard to make? You and your family are more likely to stick to your commitments if the changes you make suit your schedule and your palate.

Here are three easy changes you can make to your diet today:

Hydrate Yourself

Water reigns supreme as the health drink of choice among nutritionists and dieticians. Most diet plans include the following crucial advice: Stay hydrated, but avoid sugary beverages.

In addition to all of the critical functions water performs in your body, staying hydrated will help you feel fuller so you eat less over the course of the day.

But water doesn’t have to be tasteless to bestow benefits. There are many virtually calorie-free ways to dress up water and add a hint of nutritional value: Add slices of strawberry or cucumber, wedges of lemon, lime or orange, chunks of watermelon or several sprigs of fresh mint or basil.

Refrigerate until you’re ready to drink. Or get hydrated with green tea, which is loaded with antioxidants.

Snack on Bold Flavors

Whether you’re on the go or at home, snack time can be a dieter’s downfall. Rather than buying full-sized bags of high-fat snacks like chips, which are easy to binge on, opt for single-serving snacks that are wholesome and full of flavor. For example, olives in ready-to-go cups are a fuss-free way to punch up the flavor profile of a meal or snack.

Pearls Olives to Go! single-serving Black Pitted Olives in a cup can be just as satisfying as a serving of chips, but they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, cholesterol-free, trans-fat-free, GMO-free and vegan. They’re easy to open and stay fresh until you’re ready to eat them, which makes them perfect to stow in a gym bag or desk drawer.

Pearls recently added three new flavors to their Olives to Go! portion-controlled cup line, including Kalamata Pitted Greek Olives, Pimiento Stuffed Spanish Green Olives, and Sliced California Black Ripe Olives. Add to salads or sandwiches for bold flavor without a lot of extra calories. Read more about incorporating olives into a healthy Mediterranean diet at www.Olives.com.

Make Friends with Fat

A major mistake many dieters make is trying to cut all of the fat from their diet. Fat is a necessary component of any healthy diet. Monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and Omega-3 fatty acids should comprise the majority of the fat you eat. Great sources of healthy fat include olive oil, salmon, tuna, avocado, olives, seeds and nuts. Olives and avocados are fruit, so they also boost your fruit intake.

Try tossing olives, canned tuna or avocados into a salad; sprinkle almonds or walnuts over oatmeal; swap commercially made salad dressings and marinades with good-quality olive oil and flavorful herbs and spices.

To make your commitment to healthy eating a long-lasting one, be sure the changes you make are sensible, sustainable and, above all, delicious.