Health Nugget of the Week
December 28, 2011New Year’s Extremes
It’s typically this week that most people are gearing themselves up for their New Year’s Resolutions. Some resolutions can be very successful but oftentimes people set themselves up for disaster by not being realistic. I like to refer to these as New Year’s Extremes.
How many times have you said (or heard someone say) “OK that’s it, after New Years I am going on a diet! I’m not eating any more carbs! All I’m going to have for breakfast and lunch are protein shakes!” Now I know you are feeling bloated/full/pudgy, etc after the holidays what with all of the food, parties and alcohol but that does not mean it’s a good idea to plunge yourself into an often short-lived, intense, and restrictive diet. These extreme/fad diets almost always set you up for failure long term. Sure you will lose weight in the short-term but look at the big picture – can you really live like this the rest of your life? The answer is no! Eventually you will slip back into your old way of eating and you’re back to square one.
So why not try something new and more obtainable? Look at the big picture and set more realistic goals for your New Year’s resolutions will improve your overall health and will help you make long term healthier lifestyle choices! A few tips to get you started…
- Make healthy eating as simple as possible (i.e. lean protein with each meal, lunch and dinner include 1-2 cups of veggies and whole grains) and remember the more processed a food is the less nutritionally dense it is.
- Try 1 new healthy recipe a week
- Set one day a week aside for a “cooking day” so you can prepare large amounts of healthy food that can be frozen or packed up to grab for the rest of the week. Make healthy food convenient!
- Be aware of your sugar intake, added sugars and not. Sometimes it’s difficult to put into perspective how much sugar something contains. A tip: 4 grams of sugar = 1 tsp. So for example a cup of orange juice usually contains 20-35 grams of sugar (5 – 8 teaspoons!!)
- Drink more water – your goal should be approx 2 L a day
Healthy, balanced eating does take a little prep and some time, but it should not be overwhelming. Take slow easy steps in converting your unhealthy choices over to nutritionally dense ones and have fun with it! Also remember it’s not about being good 100% of the time, that’s no fun! I usually recommend an 80/20 split.
Holiday Reminder: I will be out of the office Jan 2 – 8 returning Jan 9th.
Have a Healthy Week everyone and I will chat with you in the New Year!
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