By DEANNE WEAVER, guest columnist
Raise your right hand and repeat after me: “I promise that I’ll never go on a diet again.”
Sounds drastic and probably not what you’d ever expect to hear from a person who makes their living by helping people lead a healthier life.
Don’t get me wrong; I do want you to eat in a way that nourishes your body and helps you maintain a healthy body composition. But I don’t believe dieting is the best way to get there.
When we go on a “diet,” we abruptly try to change our eating patterns all at once, eliminating all our favorite foods while trying to only eat foods allowed in our “diet.” This all-or-nothing mentality is very difficult to follow for the long-term. Even the most dedicated dieter eventually indulges in foods that aren’t allowed on their diet, and they are then “off” their diet. This is until they begin feeling guilty and they decide to get “on” their diet again. Guess what: that’s a yo-yo diet, not a very enjoyable or healthy way to look at eating!
Try to think of eating healthy as a slow, steady journey to include fresh, whole, less processed foods in more of the meals and snacks you eat.
Slowly try to replace unhealthy drinks like soda with water. If you drink a soda every day now, start by replacing that with water every other day. By making water our primary drink, we are eliminating unwanted sugar and hydrating our body in the very best way.
By making small changes over time, we will soon notice that we are choosing more foods that nourish us and fewer foods that don’t — not because it’s on our “diet,” but because we feel better when we do. We’ll have more energy, feel more focused and won’t have the sugar highs and lows that we get with a lot of processed foods.
So what does a healthy eating pattern look like? Here are a few ideas to help you in your journey.
Try to eat green, leafy veggies most days of the week. They are power-packed with nutrients with hardly any calories.
Eat fruit for dessert. It can be a sweet ending to the meal that’s also good for you.
Enjoy a variety of colors of fruits and veggies in your meals, including blue, purple, red, orange, green, yellow and white. You are then protected by a variety of antioxidants and nutrients.
Choose lean and sometimes plant-based protein. Fish, beans and nuts are good sources.
Fill up on fiber. It can be found in whole-grain products, beans, fruits and veggies. It helps you feel satisfied and aids in digestive health.
Have a snack mid-morning and afternoon that includes protein to help prevent you from becoming too hungry between meals, which can cause you to overeat and make poor food choices. Think apple and peanut butter, cottage cheese with fruit or a smoothie with yogurt.
Eat slowly and only until full, not stuffed.
Drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
Get at seven to eight hours of sleep. Being properly rested helps give you the willpower to resist high-calorie processed foods.
Yes, there are foods that are best minimized because they don’t contribute to our health or contain too many unneeded calories or other substances that raise our risk for chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. These foods should be avoided or eaten only occasionally.
- Red and processed meats,
- Foods with lots of added sugar,
- High-sodium foods,
- Highly processed foods.
Eat out only occasionally. Commercially prepared food is often high in sodium, unhealthy fats and very high in calories, and is usually served in huge portions.
Remember that our goal is to begin this journey in a slow, sustainable way, so begin by choosing one or two changes to begin with. As those foods become a regular part of your diet, begin adding one or two more.
Search for recipes that include new foods, and don’t be afraid to try foods you haven’t liked in the past.
I hope you enjoy the freedom of never “dieting” again!
DeAnne Weaver is an American College of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer and fitness instructor at the Brown County Y. Her other “gym” is Brown County State Park, where she enjoys running, mountain biking and hiking. She can be reached at [email protected].
