Too Many Holiday Parties…one too Many Christmas cookies…a glass too many of Eggnog? Is your New Year’s resolution to make healthier choices or too lose weight? Here are some helpful hints for your New Year’s goals.
- Start Small: Don’t dive and change everything you eat. Make small changes that are manageable and you can live with.
- Eat breakfast: Start every morning breaking your overnight fast with a breakfast that has protein and fiber to keep you going. Try oatmeal with fruit and nuts, whole wheat toast with peanut butter or hardboiled egg and whole wheat English muffin.
- Plan ahead: Plan your meals and snacks before you are caught starving and start heading to the vending machine or drive through. Pack your lunch. Keep healthy snacks handy in your purse or desk drawer. Go to the grocery store and plan dinner for the week.
- Pre-pack portion controlled snacks: Snacks like trail mix and nuts are healthy, but consuming hefty portion sizes could be sabotaging your calorie intake.
- Don’t drink your calories: Soda, juice, fruit beverages and alcohol all contain calories, but your body does not become satiated from liquid calories. Best bet is to drink water or carbonated water such as seltzer water. Add lemon, orange slices, cucumber or berries to make water have a sweeter taste.
- Be mindful: Be mindful of what you are eating, when you are eating and how you feel when you are eating. Pay attention to hunger cues. Don’t wait until you are starving to eat because you will have tendency to over eat. Stop eating before you are so stuffed you can’t move.
- Don’t forget to get moving! You must be physically active to be healthy and to lose weight. Start small such as a walk around the block.
- Every food can fit: Don’t beat yourself up if you ate a cupcake from a birthday party or ordered a side of fries. All food can fit into a healthy diet. Just remember moderation and portion control.
Follow these hints and you will be on the right track to a healthier lifestyle and losing weight.
Written By: Meghan Norton, RD
California Dietetic Association - Orange District 