No gimmicks, just healthy choices

As the new year sig­naled the pur­chase of a new cal­en­dar, it also urges many of us to buy into the fact that this is the time of year to lose weight. The word d-i-e-t has become a code word for sac­ri­fice, depri­va­tion and span­dex suits.

Mark my words, if a weight loss tac­tic is not real­is­tic enough to become a life long habit then it is just a gim­mick. Every­one knows that gim­micks are designed to attract atten­tion, not change lives.

A new research study revealed that being slightly over­weight was health­ier than a weight at the nor­mal limit. I would agree but the real prob­lem is that many folks do not stop at being slightly over­weight; if a lit­tle is good, than more should be fantastic.

The begin­ning of a new year is not the only time to con­sider a healthy weight. Listed below are a few ideas or you may want to refer to them as gim­micks to improve nutri­tional sta­tus. Fol­low­ing these tips does not guar­an­tee weight loss but a new aware­ness of mind­ful eat­ing and nutri­ent intake is a healthy res­o­lu­tion for the new year.

Make water the drink of choice. Although some stud­ies say that it is not nec­es­sary to drink 8– 8 ounce glasses of water daily but it hydrates the body, bet­ter wet than dry. Dry skin needs fluid.

Eat at least 1 cup of dark green veg­eta­bles like broc­coli, romaine let­tuce, kale, spinach or brus­sel sprouts at least 4 times a week. Skip the vit­a­min and min­eral pill because these veg­gies are power packed.

Drink all caloric drinks out of an 8 ounce glass or cup. Lim­it­ing reg­u­lar soda pop, juice and even milk will help to con­trol the amount that is swal­lowed. Stand­ing up and refill­ing the glass uses calo­ries that would nor­mally be stored not burned.

Leav­ing a few bites of food on your plate will exer­cise self con­trol. Be in com­mand of the food; not the other way around with the food hav­ing power over you. Also do not waste more than one bite on any food that does not taste good or is not worth the calo­ries. Eat only sit­ting at a table; make it a habit that will con­trol your intake.

Brush your teeth after each meal. The feel of clean teeth is a tac­tile reward that dis­cour­ages mind­less snack­ing. You will spend less money at the den­tist and the gro­cery store.

Before grab­bing a snack in the evening ask your­self, “Am I really hun­gry?” If a bowl of unsweet­ened cereal with milk sounds yummy to you then per­haps hunger is the issue. If the cereal is not entic­ing then for­get the snack, hunger was never the question.

Clean out your refrig­er­a­tor, freezer and pantry. Throw away all spoiled and expired food. Keep healthy choices handy and ready to grab and go. Think about the food that you should eat more of, and not what you should avoid eating.

Jan­u­ary is not the only month to con­sider eat­ing and weight. A healthy lifestyle is worth­while any month of the year. Do not diet; mak­ing healthy food choices and daily activ­ity is not a gimmick.

Bob­bie Ran­dall is a cer­ti­fied dia­betes edu­ca­tor and a reg­is­tered, licensed dietit­ian. She super­vises a dia­betes self-management train­ing pro­gram at Aultman-Orrville Hos­pi­tal, Orrville. Con­tact her at bobbie.randall@aultmanorrville.org or 330–684-4776.

Posted by Ben Stroup on Jan 9 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.