Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: central florida ymca, Get Fit Club, holiday nutrition, local 6, nutrition facts, Sharon Bartfield, wkmg, ymca
Healthy New Year
By
Sharon Bartfield, MS, RD, LD/N
Before you know it, the New Year will be here and it will be time to put those New Year’s resolutions into action. It is never a bad idea to try to make the upcoming year healthier than the last. However, striving towards the goal of a healthier lifestyle needs to be considered a new way of living, not a short term plan. Here are some suggestions for setting your goals, so take out your notebooks!
Step 1: Reflection: In order to make improvements, it is helpful to reflect upon the past year. Ask yourself questions such as…
- Do you start the day with breakfast? This provides the fuel for your body to get started for the day and will prevent over consumption of calories later in the day.
- Do you skip meals? Skipping meals leads to getting over hungry which, in turn, leads to over eating.
- Do you succumb to portion distortion? Today’s portions are far more servings than what your body needs. If you are eating out, consider eating half and taking the other half home.
- Do you eat your meal and then take second helpings in less than 20 minutes? It takes time for the brain to perceive the food that enters your digestive system. Give yourself at least 20 minutes before reaching for more food. This way you might realize that you are not truly hungry anymore.
- Do you get 7-8 hours of sleep per night? Research has shown that getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night can result in less weight gain. When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies try to compensate for lack of energy by eating more. There are also hormones involved that encourage increased food intake when you are sleep deprived.
- Do you eat for reasons other than hunger such as loneliness, boredom, or stress? Identify whether you are eating because you are hungry or eating in response to an emotional state. If emotions are your trigger for food intake, then make a concerted effort to replace emotional eating with another activity you enjoy. Before you know it, you will have developed a more healthful habit.
- Do you eat and then feel hungry an hour later? Fill up not out. Put protein and fiber in each meal and snack. This will provide more “staying power” to keep you satisfied longer.
- Do you plan your meals for the week so that you are less likely to make less healthful choices? Plan ahead! If you plan some healthful meals and have a shopping list and coupons ready to go, you will actually save time and money.
- Do you think that “eating right” means deprivation? Deprivation leads to desperation. The end result will be that you end up right back where you started. Learn how to prepare foods in a more healthful way without sacrificing flavor or time. You can often get free recipes from magazines such as eatingwell.com , cookinglight.com, cleaneatingmag.com .
Step 2: Set your goals: Now that you have identified some areas for dietary improvement, it is best to divide your goals into short-term and long-term goals. For example, a long term goal might be to lose 50 pounds. Well, that does not happen over night. A safe rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week for long-term success. At short-term goal might be to try to eat breakfast each and every day if you normally head out the door without your morning nourishment. Setting short-term goals and striving to achieve them one at a time will lead to greater success with your long-term goals.
Best wishes for a happy and a healthy New Year!
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