Healthy Eating
“Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. But by using these simple tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty, varied, and healthy diet. – From Helpguide.org
Healthy eating tip 1: Set yourself up for success
To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think.
- Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.
- Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.
- Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long-term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.” Authors: Maya W. Paul, Melinda Smith, M.A. and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.
“When you start increasing fruits and vegetables, notice how you feel. Eating the right amount of food and the right types of food can make you feel better physically. In contrast, when you overeat or eat excessive amounts of junk food, you can feel sluggish or sick. Paying attention to how you feel after you eat can give you more motivation to keep eating healthy and eating smaller amounts of less healthy foods.” Author: Susan Clark, Madison Dietitian
It’s summer! The beautiful, flamboyant colors that represent the season draw your eye and stimulate your senses. Some of the wonderful benefits of the season are that gardens are producing, healthy produce is in abundance and the bright, colorful fruits and vegetables steal your attention as you walk the aisles of your favorite grocery store.
Succumb to the temptation! Fill your grocery cart with choices that reflect this vibrant time of year! Increase your energy! Help your body lower the risk of serious health problems! Don’t delay, make the commitment today. This is the best time of year to begin making fruits and vegetables a priority to your health.