For a great majority of people, developing a healthy nutrition plan is an important resolution when beginning a new year. Whether you’ve embarked on the weight-loss journey or you’re simply trying to incorporate more nutritious foods into your lifestyle, healthy nutrition is key to a healthy life!
If you’re aiming tho change the way you eat as part of your goals for 2017, know that you’re not alone — and the Your Weight Matters Campaign wants you to succeed! To lay the groundwork for your new nutrition plan, we’ve offered a few key tips that can help steer you in the right direction.
Tips for Developing a Healthy Nutrition Plan
Use these suggestions to get started on re-shaping the way you eat (and think about!) food:
Do a Deep Clean – First, begin to clear out all of the foods you’d ideally like to eliminate from your diet. Go through your refrigerator, freezer, pantry, and even a snack drawer if you have one and identify what items will do nothing to help further your goals. Then, bring all of your healthy/beneficial foods forward so they’re in plain sight.- Shop the Perimeter – The perimeters of grocery stores are where you’ll typically find the foods that are most essential to your diet. This includes your fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy. Shop these areas first before venturing into the inward isles as these are where processed foods are generally located.
Talk to Your Doctor – Everyone’s nutrition needs are different, so if you have questions or concerns about what you should be eating to reach your weight and health goals, consult with your doctor or a dietitian. Health professionals such as these can help you determine any specific dietary needs, restrictions and regulations that are specific to your own body.- Develop and Maintain a Food Journal – A food journal can help you track the specific foods and portion sizes that you’re eating, which may make it easier to analyze trends and habits that you’d like to work on. For example, you can keep tabs on your hunger levels and how your food makes you feel mentally and physically. You can also use a food journal to count calories if you’d like to maintain a certain calorie count per day/week. For helpful tips on keeping a successful food journal, please CLICK HERE.
Choose Whole Foods – Whole foods, as opposed to processed foods, can provide you with the most vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are essential to a healthy diet. Examples include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean meats and eggs. For practical tips on adding more whole feeds into your diet, please CLICK HERE.- Be forgiving – If you get off track from your nutrition goals once in a while, don’t beat yourself up. Nobody is perfect, and you shouldn’t expect your nutrition plan to always go as planned. Remember that the key to healthy nutrition is moderation, so it’s okay to occasionally splurge on other things! Be forgiving and gracious to yourself, because you’ll otherwise end up discouraged and frustrated.
The Your Weight Matters Campaign wishes you a healthy and nutritious start to the new year, and we hope that you use our many resources to help you along the way!
