So January is coming to a close…are you still following your New Year’s resolutions? It is a lot of pressure to start eating a perfectly healthy diet come January 1. Often people set big, unrealistic goals that are impossible to follow. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment, here are some suggestions to modify your diet in healthy way. The following New Year’s Resolution is in the January/February 2007 issue of the Nutrition Action newsletter, a great resource of nutrition information provided by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
1. Eat Bran cereal in place of other cereal
Recommended dosages of fiber are 21 grams for women 51 and older, 25 grams for women 50 and younger, 30 grams for men 51 and older, 38 grams for men 50 and younger. It is hard to get that much fiber daily through the diet and starting the day with a bran cereal is a great way meet your needs. Most foods have 2-7 g foods per serving while many bran cereals have 10-15 grams. Bran is shown to have heart healthy benefits along with improving the health of the colon. It is also shown to decrease appetite since the fiber fills you up.
2. Eat less meat or go meatless
This is not to say to stop eating meat. However, try to be adventurous and incorporate some protein sources that are meatless into the diet. The American Cancer Society recommends people limit consumption of red meat and processed meats. Nitrites in packaged meats are associated with a variety of cancers and new research is showing that cooked meats have a pro-oxidant effect. For those who eat red meat more than 4 times a week, try to incorporate fish, lean chicken(white meat without the skin), beans, soy or meatless products. Experiment with cooking techniques and seasoning to get a taste that works for you.
3. Let beans squeeze out starches
The USDA’s dietary guidelines for Americans recommends at least three cups of legumes a week. Legumes include all beans and lentils. They are a great food because they inexpensive, easy to prepare, fiber packed and a great source of carbohydrate, fat and protein. They are also packed with nutrients. Instead of pastas, breads or rice at every meal, try lentil soups, chili, add beans on salads or use spreads like hummus. There are a variety of types of beans and legumes. Buy some cans, add some vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings and see what works for you. Legumes are easy to buy, cheap, convenient to make and good for you–it doesn’t get much better!
4. Don’t drink your calories!!!
For someone who is trying to lose weight, the first place to look is their beverage intake. Sodas, juices, many teas and coffees have hundreds of calories. People are gaining pounds every year and it is coming from empty calories in drinks. It is extremely misleading because people look at “all natural” juices and “organic” iced teas and think they are healthy. The sad truth is they are all empty calories. Take a look at your weekly intake of beverages and see where you can cut them out and exchange for water. Club soda and diet sodas are a great alternative because they have no calories. Tea and coffee also have no calories before adding milk and sugar.
5. Hold the cheese
This is another sneaky one since cheese is everywhere. 1 oz of cheese has 100 calories–who can eat only 1 slice of cheese!! Cheese can make a healthy salad, sandwich or egg dish into a high fat, high calorie meal. Be strategic. Try fat free or low fat cheese at home and hold the cheese when eating out. If you are a huge cheese fan, enjoy it on special occasions and savor the taste. Learn to pick your battles.
6. Snack smart
The average American eats three meals and two snacks a day. With increasing portion sizes and hidden calories throughout our food supply, the average snack is turning into a meal. The best advice is to plan ahead. Have fruit, vegetables, whole grain crackers, yogurt or protein bars available so when you are starting to get hungry, you are prepared with a low calorie, nutritious snack. Many people overeat everyday since they wait too long between meals, get starved and eat whatever is quick and easy, and most likely not so nutritious. Think about times during the day where you often get stuck and find a way to be armed and ready!
7. Add Omega 3s into your diet
Many of you have heard of the buzz of Omega 3 fatty acids. Our body cannot make Omega 3 fatty acids so it is essential that we eat them in our diet, hence the name essential fatty acid. Omega 3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory affect. It is suggested that Omega 3’s can protect the heart, decrease triglycerides and curtail the inflammatory response. Please do not misunderstand–the inflammatory response is essential for our survival. It allows us to know when there is a problem and sparks our immune response to start to work. The problem is a lot of our foods have Omega 6 fatty acids which are pro inflammatory. Most American diets have far more Omega 6 fatty acids than Omega 3s. It is important to eat more Omega 3s in order to find a balance. Great sources of the fatty acid are fatty fish such as salmon, walnuts, flax, canola oil and olive oil. Some easy ways to make the change are buy canned salmon instead of canned tuna, add flax seeds to cereal and salads, pack walnuts as a snack and replace all vegetable oils at home with canola and olive only.
8. Sip soup not salt
Soup is a great food to eat to cut calories. It is filling and many soups have less than 200 calories in a hearty bowl. The problem is that many canned soups have an excessive salt content making a once healthy food into a food that is not heart healthy. The recommended amount of Sodium per day is less than 2400 mg daily. This is extremely difficult to do unless you prepare all of your food at home from scratch. Sodium is in most packaged and canned foods as a preservative and to add taste. To continue eating soup without the salt, try using a low sodium boxed broth and adding vegetables, rice and a source of protein to keep it healthy without all the added salt.
9. Roast vegetables, not potatoes
Potatoes are technically vegetables but they are not most nutritious veggie out there. The sad reality is that the vegetable eaten most often in this country is french fries. A beautiful colorful salad can have no fat and full of vitamins while french fries are full of fat of calories. Experiment roasting different vegetables and trying them on your plate at dinner rather than potatoes. Don’t get me wrong, please continue eating potatoes. A baked potato can be a great snack and there are a nutritous food. The problem is most people do not eat any vegetable other than potatoes. Think of it more as adding more color to your plate at each meal. Each color represents a different nutrient. Try roasting some bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini and broccoli as a side dish for dinner to fill your plate.
10. Finish with fruit
Last but definatley not least, we have to remember dessert. We have our chocolate cravings or sweet tooths that cannot be ignored. Instead of always going to for candy or getting your hand in the cookie jar, try some fruit to end a meal. At restaurants look for a fruit dish on the menu, at home make a fruit salad and have it ready in the fridge.
Just some tips to start the new year off right. Remember, baby steps add up!