It’s week #4 of National Nutrition Month!
Here’s another GREAT way to Go Further With Food:
“Be mindful of portion sizes and find physical activities you enjoy doing most days of the week.”
We all want to live longer, healthier lives. We all know that eating less and moving more is the key to doing this. You will literally “go further” if you walk, run, cycle, swim, dance or do any activity that you love doing most days of the week, especially if you combine this with just a few less calories. We KNOW this. So, how can we actually do it?
Here are some tips to keep your plans on track:
- Choose an activity you LOVE. Don’t “love” any activity? Choose a friend you LOVE who will move with you. Doing an activity for social reasons may work better than doing it for health reasons.
- Don’t change WHAT you eat. Change HOW you eat. You eat less when you:
- Eat from a plate not a bag or box.
- Eat slowly and pay attention when eating.
- Eat when hungry but don’t RESTRICT or DIET: this backfires and you’ll eat too much when you stop “dieting.”
- Every time you eat, see if you can leave 2-3 tablespoons on your plate or take a little less than what you usually do.
- Drink a glass of water or another no-calorie beverage before your meals. Sometimes we think we’re hungry but we’re really thirsty.
- At restaurants: split entrees or immediately set aside ½ of what you’re served. People tend to eat EVERYTHING on their plates whether hungry for it or not, and restaurant portions are 2-3x the size of what most people need.
- Challenge yourself to try these tips for 40 days. It takes about that long for a new approach to become a habit.