7 Small Changes to Better Nutrition

It can be overwhelming to try to change your lifestyle completely. You may want to get healthy, but you are having a hard time sticking with your new diet. Often we talk about small steps to add in exercise such as taking the stairs and leaving the elevator behind. But what about small changes in your diet? Setting smaller goals can help you stick with your changes and achieve the larger goal of overall good health. Try these small steps to change your diet.

• Eat fewer calories. Figure out how many calories you consume on average each day. Then cut 25 or 50 calories the next day. When you are ready cut another 50 and so on. This will help keep the hungry feeling, but allowing your body to adjust to the fewer calories over time.
• Add a fruit or vegetable. Start adding 1 fruit or vegetable at each meal. Slide the meat and potatoes dinner over to the side and make way for a side of green beans, carrots, broccoli or even a small salad.
• Eat green. Add a green vegetable to every meal or dish you make. Having tacos? Make sure fresh sweet peppers or lettuce make it into that tortilla. Breakfast may seem more difficult, but give it some thought and try an egg-white omelet with peppers.
• Limit soda to one serving a day. Select lunch, dinner or snack, etc., whenever you really would like to have that soda and only have it then. Other times you can replace it with 100% juice, flavored water (but check the contents), tea or, the best choice, water.
• Switch to whole grain. If you love bread, pasta and cereal, try switching to whole grain. Your body will love the increase in fiber and other nutrients.
• Cut down sweets. Don’t stop them all together, but cut back. Put down the cookies and try changing your afternoon snack to a handful of nuts, a few whole grain crackers, a piece of cheese or raw vegetables with a little fat-free ranch dressing.
• Don’t make anything larger. When eating out, sometimes it seems to be a better deal to make your meal “large” because it is just a few cents more. However, the amount of extra calories and fat you are consuming is alarming. Stick with the small size as your baby step and, eventually, work your way towards healthier menu items.

What can you add to this list? Let us know your dieting baby steps!

Try one or more of these baby steps in order to stick with long-term healthy choices. Always speak with your physician before starting any changes in diet. Let us help you make an appointment, by calling Healthcare Coordination.

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