What
does ‘healthy eating’ mean to you? Does it mean you have
to give up all your favorite foods? Does it mean you will be eating ‘diet
foods’ all the time? Does it mean deprivation?
The good
news is: with some basic valid nutrition know-how and some ‘moving
your body through space’ (otherwise known as physical activity
or exercise), ALL foods can fit into a healthful eating pattern.
And I do
mean ALL!
Some ideas on how to accomplish this are:
•Set
realistic goals. Small changes over a period of time are more likely to last
and generally are easier to incorporate into our lives.
•Variety is essential for nutritional adequacy. Eat a wide variety of foods from
each group in the Food Guide Pyramid.
Balance is critical! Choose enough daily servings from each food group. Any eating
pattern that lacks balance will be unhealthy.
•Moderation means BE SENSIBLE! Any food can fit in a
healthy eating pattern, just don’t overdo it. Eating should be enjoyable.
So go ahead and have your favorite foods, just keep the amount and how often
you
eat them sensible.
•Be flexible. Don’t obsess about each and every
item eaten. Instead look at your eating and physical activity over several
days.
Keep the big picture
in mind!
•Avoid boredom & apathy. Keep it more interesting
by experimenting with foods and activities that you haven’t tried before.
Try different ethnic foods and/or look through cookbooks for taste sensations
you may not
have thought of
before. Remember, out tastes often change over time, so something that you
may not have liked years ago may actually be something that you would enjoy
now.
So give it a try!
•Move your body through space. Walk the dog, don’t
just watch the dog walk! Park your car a little further away and walk rather
than
driving around looking
for the closest space! Again, small changes are more lasting.
•Accept that there are no miracle cures or quick fixes for poor
eating habits.It takes work, patience, and commitment. The benefits from eating healthy are
both immediate and long term. You will start to feel better quickly and you may
live longer and/or lower your risk for disease.
•Healthy food choices can be found just about everywhere. More
than 15,000 new food products arrive on supermarket shelves every year and
restaurants are also
expanding their offerings. Check the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels to
make healthier choices. At restaurants, ask questions on how items are prepared
and don’t be afraid to ask for other alternatives. For example, one of
our favorite restaurants always serve their vegetables with a sauce on them
but we just asked for them to be served plain. They were very obliging and
we enjoyed
our meal even more (which of course means more future business for them).
•Avoid creating feeling of deprivation. Deprivation
leads to rebound binging that often makes us more unhealthy than if we just
allowed
ourselves to have those
foods in more limited amounts. Feeling of deprivation can occur even when you
are consuming enough calories. Deprivation often starts when we tell ourselves,
or someone else (like a diet plan) tells us, that we can’t or shouldn’t
have a particular food. Human nature means that we will want it even more and
we will eventually eat it! To avoid deprivation, never say never.
Once we start changing the old belief system from "good foods" and "bad
foods" to all foods can fit, we will have made significant progress towards
developing a healthier relationship with our food.
*** Reproduction of this newsletter in an unaltered state is permitted for educational
purposes only. Reproduction for sales purposes is not authorized. ***
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