HEALTHY CHANGES FOR THE NEW YEAR

A common New Year’s resolution is to make healthy lifestyle changes. Here are some tips to get the New Year off to a healthy start.

BRING HEALTHY SNACKS

If you’re going to be out and about for most of the day it can be helpful to bring along healthy snacks, like fruit, a protein bar or a small bag of pretzels, to bridge the gap between meals. This way you can get through the day without feeling too hungry.

USE LOW CALORIE ADD-ONS TO ADD BULK TO YOUR MEALS

Start a meal with soup, or add a big salad or vegetables to your plate. This should help you feel full while also obtaining more nutrients and fewer calories.

PICK A CUT-OFF TIME FOR EVENING SNACKING

It’s best not to snack after dinner, especially when watching TV or another device. But if you do, a good idea is to set a cut-off time after which you will not eat until the next day. This will help prevent consuming unwanted calories at a time when you probably are not really hungry.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR CONDIMENTS

White, creamy condiments like mayonnaise, creamy salad dressings, butter and cream cheese, add a lot of fat and calories to your meals, even in small amounts. A healthy fix is to switch to condiments like mustard, a butter substitute, or light salad dressings.

LEAVE PORTIONS WHEN DINING OUT

We often feel like we need to “clean our plate”, especially when eating in restaurants, where the servings are often much larger than we need to satisfy our hunger. If you see that your meal portion is too big you can ask for a takeout container and take home any extras to use as a meal for another day.

MOVE MORE

In addition to making dietary changes, exercise can also help by making you stronger and burning off some calories. Make a resolution to move more. Even 20-30 extra minutes of movement every day can help improve overall health.