6 Weeks to a Healthier Lifestyle: Changing Your Eating

6 Weeks to a Healthier Lifestyle
Changing Your Eating

	from Paige Waehner Eating healthy is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself. Giving your body the nutrients it needs can help you function at your peak while keeping your weight in check. The problem for many of us is not that we don't want to eat healthy, but that we don't always know how to eat healthy. You may know you need more fruits and veggies, but what you really need to know is how to sneak more into your diet when you're busy, strapped for cash and...ooh, those french fries sure do look good, don't they? You may have noticed in previous lessons that your first step in changing something is knowing where you are. You (hopefully) started keeping a food journal a few weeks ago and, if so, you've made a good start at figuring that out. This week, you'll take it even further by determining how healthy your diet is and then using the articles, quizzes, tips and resources below to start making changes in your diet. Remember, making drastic changes in how you eat can backfire, especially if you cut out entire food groups. Try giving yourself permission to take your time and make small changes. Every small change can add up to a healthier way of eating.
	How Healthy is Your Diet?
	Before you make any changes in your diet, it helps to know how healthy (or unhealthy) it is in the first place. You probably know quite a bit at this point, especially if you've been keeping a food journal (as suggested in Week 3 of this course). If so, you can use that information as your starting point for determining what you might need to add (or take away) from your diet. A good place to start is with the quiz, How Healthy is Your Diet?. Once you get your score on that, take some time to educate yourself about the basics of nutrition: Nutrition 101 Nutrition Guides for Men and Women Why You Need Healthy Carbs Protein in the Diet Fats in the Diet By learning more about the basics of nutrition, you can make better choices, whether you're shopping at the grocery store or eating out. Those choices are what put you on the right track to healthy eating.
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	Eating for Your Health
	Healthy eating isn't just about losing weight, it's about keeping your body healthy as you get older. Just getting more fruits and vegetables can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, help you control your blood pressure and cholesterol and prevent some types of cancer. (Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Major Chronic Disease) Not only that, the more healthy foods you introduce into your diet, the easier it gets...once your body responds to healthier meals, you may find you're less tempted to eat fattier meals that leave you feeling bloated and tired. These resources provide some simple ways to eat for your health: Healthy Foods for a Healthy Lifestyle How to Eat for a Healthy Heart. There are some simple changes you can make in your diet to reduce your risk of heart problems as you get older. Shereen Jegtvig, About's Nutrition Guide, recommends you: Eat fish high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids (e.g., salmon, herring and sardines) Stay away from saturated fats and choose healthier fats like olive oil or vegetable oil Eat more fiber like oatmeal or other whole grain foods Eat more soy (soy milk, tofu or soybeans) Eat healthy proteins (lean meat, nuts and beans) Use healthier methods to cook your food--steaming, baking or sauteeing in light olive oil Watch your portions Cut back on your salt intake What's nice about this list is that there are more do's than don't's and it's always easier to add something to your diet than it is to take something away. Instead of getting too caught up in the bad things you might be eating, focus on what you could add to your diet. Using the list above, choose at least one thing to tackle in your own diet--could you add more fiber to your diet? Drink more water? Switch to lower fat dairy products?
	The New Pyramid
	You now know a few tricks for a creating a healthy diet, but the new Food Guide Pyramid offers you even more help in changing your diet. The interactive website lets you enter in your information to figure out how many calories you need and where those calories should come from. You can learn more by exploring the Food Guide Pyramid which explains each part of the pyramid in detail.
	Get Started Today
	In the second week, you learned about setting goals and in the third week you, hopefully, kept a food journal detailing your current eating patterns. With this information in hand, you can start making some changes in your diet. Step 1. Look over the food journal you've been keeping and make a list of areas that need change. Some examples might be: Not enough vegetables or fruit Too many processed carbs and not enough whole grains Eating out several times a week instead of bringing lunch to work Eating off my kid's plates Eating sweets after dinner even when I'm not hungry Step 2. Look at the list you just made and make another list of easy ways to change those habits. Make sure the ideas you come up with are reasonable. For example: Keep canned fruit in my desk at work and have it for a snack Cut up pieces of carrots, celery and broccoli each week Use whole grain pasta in pasta dishes Eat out one less time each week and bring my lunch to work. Find frozen meals (like Lean Cuisine) if I find I don't have time to make lunch each morning. Have my kids throw away any leftovers or start giving kids the same healthy foods that I feed myself Step 3. Use the list you just made to map out your strategy to reach those goals. What do you need to do to make sure you can make those changes? Go grocery shopping for canned fruits and veggies, frozen meals, etc. Look up simple easy recipes and buy the ingredients so I have what I need to cook healthy meals Find a new route to work so I'm not tempted by fast food restaurants Tell my co-workers that I'm trying to eat healthy and won't be going out to eat as often Step 4. Check in with yourself at the end of the week and put checkmarks by all the things you did. Highlight anything you didn't do and write down why Step 5. Once you've mastered all the things on your list, make a new one and come up with a new plan.
	Diets
	Of course, you can always take the diet route which sounds a bit easier than all the steps I've listed above...or is it? I'm no fan of diets, simply because most people find them impossible to follow for long periods of time. What I am a big fan of is making lasting changes. However, diets can be helpful by teaching you different ways to eat and offering menu ideas. If you're interested, these resources cover all the popular diets and what they're all about. All About Diets Low Carb Diets Low Fat Cooking
	Eating Healthy on a Budget
	Eating healthy can seem expensive and time consuming, unless you use a few tricks to keep the expenses down and take some time to find meals that are simple to make and good for you all at the same time. Taking some time to find easy, healthy meals and making a detailed grocery list can go a long way towards making healthy eating fit in your budget and schedule. Here are some great resources for saving money and finding easy recipes: Is Healthy Eating Too Expensive? Ten Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget Eating Well on a Budget Quick and Healthy Meals Quick & Easy Side Dishes Meals in Minutes
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