Make this year the year you implement sustainable changes for your health that impact you positively for a lifetime. Short term diets don't work for a whole bunch of reasons. One reason is that they often result in muscle loss (and subsequent fat regain) that can decrease your metabolism. They also leave you feeling defeated and blaming yourself for a lack of self-control when it is the diet that was designed to fail and not you.
This year, make it your goal to exit the up-down, diet and weight cycling forever. To do this, choose sustainable goals that will impact your health long term. With any change you make, ask yourself, "can I do this for the rest of my life and feel satisfied?"
Here's some of our favorite sustainable changes you can make this year. You don't need to be perfect to be healthy, just pick a few and work on consistency and you'll see a healthier you over the course of this year (and hopefully for the rest of your life).
Choose to eat balanced meals most of the time. Our bodies need carbs, protein, fat and fiber at our meals to get the nutrition we need. When you plate a meal, ask yourself if it includes a sources of each of these.
Eat more fiber. When you wade through all of the fancy nutrition principles out there, one tends to stand the test of time: Eating more fiber is really healthy. Now, if you have gut issues, talk with your dietitian because not all fiber may be beneficial for you. But for most people, getting plenty of fiber each day from a variety of food sources is great for your health. Sources include fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Just make sure you're drinking enough water too.
Eat more whole grains. Speaking of fiber, whole grains are an excellent source of fiber and other micronutrients like B vitamins and Vitamin E. Look at where you are eating more refined grains and try to substitute in the whole grain version wherever it doesn't changed your satisfaction with the food. Easy places to start are whole grain breads, brown rice and whole grain hot cereals like oatmeal.
Eat produce at most meals. Check your plates and add some color with fruits and veggies at most meals. This is such a simple way to have a meaningful impact on your health.
Find movement that you enjoy. Stop forcing yourself to do exercise that you feel like you should be doing and pick something you enjoy naturally. Join a team or take a class you've been wanting to try. Just make sure you pick something you actually like doing.
Eat more seafood. Seafood is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. There's a variety of healthy benefits from omega-3s so making seafood a part of your weekly menu is a great way to eat healthier this year.
Focus on variety. The more variety you eat, the more nutrients you're getting. Instead of trying to figure out the best foods to eat, practice eating a variety of foods and plating up meals that are full of different colors.
Practice listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues. Your body is smart and will let you know what you need. Instead of external measures like calorie counting, practice listening to your body's cues. If this feels challenging to you, our dietitians are experts at helping people restore their ability to listen to and trust their bodies.
Prioritize connection with others. Social health is just as much a part of health as physical health. People connect over food and taking time to eat with friends and family (even if it's not the most perfect food ever) is an important component of health.
Learn to make more of your food at home. When we prepare our own food, we tend to use more whole ingredients and are more aware of what we put in it. You don't have to make everything from scratch, but if you would benefit from eating more from home, start with a meal or two a week that would normally have out.
If you could use support making sustainable changes this year, we'd love to help you. Sometimes simple changes are hard to make and that's where we come in.
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