The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ website www.eatright.org always has a variety of educational tips and information for the public. I was browsing their topics and their article titled “Eating Right isn’t Complicated” really caught my eye. Poor eating habits are often blamed on time restraints, lack of money, food preferences, etc….but in reality healthy eating doesn’t need to be complicated! There is a link in this article to a PDF graphic that shows the following statistics:
- 82% don’t want to give up the foods they like in order to eat healthier.
- 68% don’t eat fruits or vegetables at least twice a day.
- 62% have no time to track their diet in order to eat healthier.
- 60% juggle both work and family and prefer to prepare their meals in 15 minutes.
- 36% have no leisure time for physical activity.
Do any of these statements relate to you? I’m sure at least a few do as they are the majority of the population! Healthy eating does not need to be complicated and we can all do it, it just may mean changing your way of life a bit to improve things. Here are some suggestions:
- Aim for a healthy plate that includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat or fat-free milk.
- Make sure your diet is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.
- Make the most of your calories. Think of your body like a temple… you want to put the best things into your body much like you would a temple so make healthy choices that will keep your body healthy. These choices should be packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other healthy nutrients, yet lower in bad fats and calories.
- Focus on variety! Include a variety of colors in your diet to help you get a variety of nutrients. Pay special attention to the produce that is in season, this will not only help your budget, but keep your intake varied.
- Become a label reader! Take some time to read the labels and look for serving size, calories, fat, sodium, sugars, etc to help you make a better choice.
- You have heard me say all of these things before, so how do you make it easy? Planning and determination. Take some time each week to plan out your meals or at least have a basic plan for what you will be eating. Do some prep work to make it go faster during the work week. You can brown up your lean hamburger, slow cook some chicken breasts, make a pork loin, etc on the weekend so that you at least have a few steps completed to a making a healthy and quick meal. Frozen steamer bags of veggies and canned veggies are quick to prepare and add to a meal and/or you can always keep some raw veggies on hand to add them to your meal, such as carrots and broccoli with a little low fat dip. Instead of buying white grains, purchase whole grains and instead of buying fatty, processed meats, only choose lean meats. These simple substitutions paired up with planning should make healthy eating easy!
- Throw out the excuses! Don’t let those excuses hinder you and your family from being healthy. Watch the sales and take small steps to improving your health. Earlier this week, we had porkchops, green beans, and wild rice for a meal. The total cost of the meal was under $5 for each of us. We just have to change our way of thinking about healthy eating and activity and not let the excuses get in the way of living a healthy life! You can do this!
For more information on this, you can check out the Eat Right’s article at: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442473735
-Kelsey
