Many of us can empathize with trying to find the perfect diet. The key word here, of course, is “trying.” Building a truly perfect diet is probably impossible. However, you can take some big steps toward crafting an effective diet if you have the right approach.
One shining example is Steve Harvey, who has taken many thoughtful steps to build a diet that works for him. By learning about Steve Harvey’s diet and what’s important to him, you can also create one that works for you.
Why Did Steve Harvey Go on a Diet?
Steve Harvey went on a diet for a list of reasons. Most importantly, he wanted to feel better, be healthy for his grandkids, lose weight, and have more energy. He has made it no secret that he struggled with his health for a few years. Steve has talked publicly about not feeling at his best and holding onto more weight than he wanted to.
Feeling this way convinced him that he needed to make a change. Overall, he wanted more control over his health and the chance to feel more comfortable in his skin — and more comfortable getting out of bean bag chairs. By going on a diet, Steve has been able to take charge of his health, his energy levels, and his daily schedule.
Mr. Harvey has tried all kinds of diets — he even went vegan for a while, thanks to inspiration from Marco Borges and Beyoncé. However, none of these diets ended up helping him where he needed it the most.
By eating a diet where he is simply mindful of what he eats, Steve is able to make sure he gets the right nutrients and the right amount of calories to stay feeling great. Whether he is hosting NBC’s Family Feud, running the Steve Harvey Show, or spending time with his wife Marjorie and daughter Lori Harvey, eating right helps him to stay on top of his crazy to-do list.
How Does Steve Harvey Plan Meals?
Steve has gone back and forth, trying different diets and strategies to improve his health. Only recently has he gotten to a point where he feels comfortable with his meal-planning strategy. Steve Harvey finds success planning his meals while following these three rules.
Minimize Carbs
Carbs aren’t completely terrible. In fact, carbohydrates are a key source of energy for our bodies, helping to power us through the day. However, if the body takes in too many carbohydrates without spending the energy, they can get stored as fat. This is why Steve Harvey is mindful of his carbohydrate intake.
The most significant sources of carbs are bread, pasta, and rice — and when planning his meals, Steve doesn’t cut out carbs entirely, but he does take special care to reduce them.
After all, carbs are delicious, but too much of a good thing can have consequences — in this case, weight gain and sluggishness. For Mr. Harvey, the key is reducing his carb intake without creating a diet he won’t want to commit to.
Prioritize Greens
Greens are essential to any healthy diet and can offer a wide range of potential health benefits. Some examples of greens include spinach, kale, collard greens, and seaweed.
These greens can support our health in several key ways, as they are packed with nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Typically, the darker the color, the more nutrients the greens have.
Some of the nutrients that greens offer include:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Calcium
By including greens in your diet, you can support healthy aging, immune health, bone health, eye health, heart health, and more.
There are a ton of ways to eat more greens. You can toss them in a salad, sauté them for a dinner side, add them to an entrée, or blend them into your smoothies. By prioritizing greens in his diet, Steve is able to better support his health, from maintaining healthy cholesterol levels to staying at a healthy weight.
Moderation Is Key
When you think of meal planning, you might think a lot about restrictions and cutting out certain foods. However, Steve Harvey has come this far on his journey by focusing not on restriction but on moderation.
Taking this approach means that you still get to enjoy parts of a balanced diet. When you still have a part of your diet you enjoy, you are more likely to stick to it instead of giving up on it.
For example, Steve himself talks about how he still enjoys fried chicken despite working on a diet that prioritizes his health. Eating fried chicken in moderation means that he doesn’t feel overly restricted in his diet, but it also means that he isn’t going to start packing on the extra pounds immediately.
Think about how effective it was the last time you were told to stay completely away from something. You probably felt annoyed at the restriction.
When you recognize the power of moderation and can put it into practice, you can also feel more empowered to make decisions about your diet without locking up all your favorite foods.
What Are Steve Harvey’s Diet Tips?
After spending so much time searching for a diet that works for him, Steve has some valuable insight to share on how to build a diet that promotes your overall health and wellness. When building a diet, we can all benefit from three of his tips.
Focus on Nutrition
Crafting a diet means thinking about what is most important. The reason we eat is to nourish our bodies and provide them with the fuel needed to tackle our day-to-day routines.
Eating with a focus on nutrition can change your life for the better. With all the right nutrients, you can have your body firing on all cylinders so that you look and feel great.
When crafting any diet, it’s important to diversify your food intake. A good way to do this is by building a colorful plate. The wider variety of colors you have on your plate can indicate a wider variety of vitamins and antioxidants.
If you’re concerned about getting enough nutrients, you may want to enlist the help of a nutritionist or dietitian.
Pair With Exercise
What you eat has a crucial impact on your health, but your health doesn’t improve in the kitchen alone. Any good diet should be supplemented with regular exercise to promote your overall health and wellness. That’s why Steve Harvey makes it a point to be in the gym every day.
You should exercise at a moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes a week, with two days spent on muscle-strengthening activities. If you can, try to exercise your full body each day or at least five days a week. Exercise can be anything from a brisk walk to a more intense jog.
Exercise offers a ton of benefits, such as:
- Supporting cardiovascular health
- Encouraging a healthy weight
- Helping with balance and coordination
- Bolstering muscle strength
That said, you may want to make exercise a staple in your daily schedule. Being intentional about your exercise and building your schedule around it can go a long way toward helping you commit. Whether you prefer to go to the gym or just walk around the block, find a way to get moving!
It also helps to get plenty of high-quality sleep. To support sleep quality, you may want to stay off your electronics late at night. We know it feels relaxing to scroll through TikTok, keep up with social media trends, or catch up on your favorite talk show before bed, but the blue light and mental stimulation might keep you from getting a good night’s sleep.
Eat for Energy
Our view of food has an important impact on our diet. We should remember that food equals energy and that energy is key for taking on the day.
However, when we prioritize eating out and frequent snacking, food can hinder our health instead of supporting it. When we think about the importance of fueling our body with the right nutrients, we can begin to eat for function instead of taste.
One way Steve maintains healthy energy levels is by supplementing his diet with his L’Evate You greens powder.
L’Evate You is packed with 30 different superfoods and nine greens, as well as a proprietary M-Charge complex blend. With a blend of mushrooms, greens, and other sources of antioxidants, L’Evate You can help support all-day energy, athletic performance, and healthy aging.
On top of providing you with an excellent profile of nutrients, L’Evate You comes in three exciting flavors: chocolate, tart cherry, and original. As a result, you can get the best of both worlds — a smoothie that is easy to enjoy and helps you feel energized.
The Bottom Line
Not everyone is going to succeed by following the same diet plan, but Steve Harvey’s universal diet tips can serve as a great foundation for anyone looking to get back on the right track. You don’t have to make a transformational change to your diet overnight, either. Instead, think about how you can begin making healthier lifestyle changes one day at a time.
As you begin building your new diet, building L’Evate You into your daily routine is a great way to start. Explore our complete collection of superfood smoothies today.
Sources:
Cutting carbs, not calories, may be key to long-term weight loss | Harvard Health
Leafy Greens for Health | Penn State University