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Steps Toward a Healthier YOU!

By Betsy Opyt, RD, LD/N, CDE - The Southwest Institute for Cardiovascular Fitness & Treatment

The holidays are almost over and it is almost time to make those New Year’s resolutions. “Your focus determines your reality” and if you have a goal in mind it makes it easier to make those changes. It is best to make small changes that accumulate over time. Here are some ideas of healthy goals to work on week to week.

Healthy Goals Week to Week
Week 1: Slow down your pace of eating. Try to aim for 20-30 minute meals and see if you can even finish your plate! Most people overeat because they eat so quickly and don’t realize when they hit the “full” mark, which usually happens 20 minutes into the meal.

Week 2: Increase your fruit and vegetable intake to 5-8 servings/day. The average American gets less than 2 servings a day! Try finding ways of incorporating a fruit or vegetable into each meal and cut up fresh vegetables and fruits to have as snacks. Try even having 2 vegetable servings at your meals.

Week 3: Eat portions of protein the size of the palm of your hand Most people eat double the servings of protein, which leaves little room for those healthy vegetables!

Week 4: Get 8 hours of sleep each night to help prevent weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. You didn’t realize that sleep is related to weight? The less sleep you get, the more hours you are awake to eat. Plus lack of sleep plays a role on the metabolism and hormones.

Week 5: Get fit! Increase exercise for 30 minutes a day and at LEAST 5-7 days a week....and that goal is just to maintain health. If your goal is to lose weight, you need to exercise 60-90 minutes a day, 5-7 days a week.

Week 6: Try increasing water intake throughout the day. New studies show that staying hydrated will actually help people lose weight. Even drinking 8-16 ounces of water before a meal may help people consume 100 fewer calories.

Week 7: Try eating fresh herbs. It’s a great way to season foods without calories or salt and add antioxidants to your diet. Try adding basil or cilantro to a salad, add fresh thyme or rosemary to chicken or potatoes, or use cinnamon or vanilla to flavor coffee or yogurt.

Week 8: Increase whole grains and fiber in your diet. The more fiber you eat, the fuller you will feel. Isn’t the reason we eat is to feel full? Why eat to be hungry an hour later? The goal is to eat 25-30 grams of fiber a day. Try eating Fiber One or All Bran cereals for breakfast, Ezekiel breads for a sandwich, and whole wheat pasta or Quinoa for dinner and fill up on those high fiber berries, beans, and vegetables throughout the day.

Week 9: Intuitive eating. Most people are out of touch with their bodies and often mistake signs of fatigue, stress, boredom, or thirst for hunger. Learn your body and actually listen to when you are full or hungry. Rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10, and stop eating when you are 80% full, not 110% stuffed!

Week 10: Eat 3 meals a day or 5-6 small meals. Skipping meals is just setting you up for disaster later in the day. Eating regular meals helps balance your blood sugars and prevents overeating later in the day and binging on junk food when hunger strikes and you are too tired to cook.

Week 11: Balancing your meals. Try to eat food that is a blend of protein, carbohydrate, and vegetables at meals and snacks. Eating meals of only carbs or just protein is not only unbalanced, but will leave you either hungry or craving certain foods to help balance blood sugars.

Week 12: Try eating out less. Have you noticed the more you eat out, the more you weigh? This is not only due to the rich foods that are high in calories and fat, but also the portions of foods being served. Make a goal not to eat out more than once a week and try packing your lunches for work. Not only will you save your wasteline, but you will also save money!

Education on Diet, Nutrition and Exercise
As part of Southwest Institute for Cardiovascular Fitness & Treatment (SWICFT), SWICFT HEALTH provides educational sessions that focus on diet, weight reduction, nutrition and exercise. The nutrition and exercise side of the program is led by well-known dietician, dia-betes educator and personal trainer, Betsy Opyt, RD, LD/N, CDE, whose goal is to help individuals strike an optimum balance of diet and exercise to improve long-term health.

To learn more, contact SWICFT at 239-261-2000, or visit us online at www.swicft.org.