Does your 2023 resolution include a goal to optimize your diet for long-term health? Or commit to drinking plenty of water and eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains? How about a weekly rotation of plant-based meals?
Don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to change your habits overnight. Instead, review these 23 healthy living tips from registered dietitian Leslie Beck each week with a few extra tips. At the end of January, take a moment to review your progress and choose a subject that you think needs more attention and skill next month.
One of your biggest benefits of changing your diet is a food diary. This can provide a lot of self-awareness and point out areas for improvement. If your goal is to lose weight, research shows that keeping a proper food diary increases your chances of success.
Record your food intake and portion sizes after each meal. Don’t wait until the end of the day or you might forget some food.
Check your food diary at the end of each day. what did you notice No fruit? Not enough vegetables? Too many sweets? Portions are bigger than you think?
Women need 9 glasses of water a day, while men need 13 – more if they exercise. All drinks – even coffee! – Read the recommended daily dose.
Drinking water before every meal can help you feel full and therefore prevent overeating. In addition, many people do not drink enough water in winter because they are not thirsty. So this simple trick will also help you meet your daily water needs.
Women need 9 cups (2.2 liters) of water a day, and men need 13 cups (3 liters) more if they exercise.
The good news is that all drinks (except alcoholic drinks) count towards your daily water requirement. Yes, even coffee and tea.
It is estimated that Canadians only get half the fiber they need each day. Women aged 19 to 50 need 25 grams per day, men 38 grams. (Older women and men need 21 grams and 30 grams of fiber per day, respectively.)
To help you achieve this goal, start by increasing your breakfast fiber intake. Try one of the following:
By focusing on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in the daily diet, these types of fats are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. By replacing saturated (animal) fats, these healthy fats help lower blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and also improve the body’s use of insulin.
Good sources of polyunsaturated fats are grape seed oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseed, hemp seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Foods that primarily contain monounsaturated fats are olive oil, avocado and avocado oil, peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, cashews, pecans, and pistachios.
Sustainability will be a food trend in the coming year as climate change comes to the fore. Reducing food waste is something we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint. Food waste that ends up in landfills produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
If losing weight is one of your goals for 2023, this is a decision worth making. Studies have shown that people who eat fast and full are three times more likely to be overweight.
If you eat slowly, appetite-related hormones kick in and tell your brain that you’re full. Because it takes up to 20 minutes for these signals to register, if you eat too fast, you are more likely to overeat before your body knows about it.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: put a knife and fork to chew after each bite. Don’t pick up a knife and fork until your mouth is 100% empty. Take a few sips of water between sips.
Despite overwhelming evidence that eating more foods is good for us, most Canadians eat too little. Canada’s Food Guide recommends that half your plate be made up of fruits and vegetables.
This smart strategy can help you reach your 2023 weight loss goals. really. In fact, one of my clients did this for six weeks and lost 10 pounds.
Serve dinner on a dinner plate (7 to 9 inches in diameter) rather than a full size dinner plate.
You will put less food on the plate, which means fewer calories, but the plate will look full. You will find that your appetite quickly adjusts to less food.
To get more fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in your diet, eat at least two servings of fruit every day.
To reach your daily goals, eat fruit (whole fruit, not juice) in the morning and afternoon.
Drinking 3 to 5 cups of green tea a day has been linked to protection against heart disease and high blood pressure.
Drinking three to five cups of green tea a day has been linked to protection against heart disease and high blood pressure. Studies have also shown that regular consumption of green tea can help lower blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Green tea leaves are very rich in phytochemicals called catechins, which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Green leafy vegetables are rich in fiber and are good sources of cancer-fighting vitamins A and C, vitamin K, folic acid (a B vitamin), iron, calcium, and potassium. What’s more, they are exceptional sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, phytochemicals thought to protect against cataracts and macular degeneration. In addition, studies have shown that regular consumption of lutein-rich leafy greens can slow age-related cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Include green leafy vegetables in your daily diet. Choose from arugula, beet greens, kale, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens, lettuce, romaine lettuce, rapini (broccoli raab), spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens.
The key to successful and long-term healthy eating is planning ahead to make sure you are feeding your body with nutritious foods. Plus, knowing what’s for dinner will save you the stress of figuring out what to cook at the end of a busy day.
Try planning dinner for next week. If appropriate, I recommend that you also plan breakfast, lunch, and snacks. In your plan, consider how you can prepare one meal and use it for two or more meals. Make soups, casseroles, pasta sauces, or chili peppers in batches on weekends, then freeze them for busy weeknights. Prepare a batch of whole grains like brown rice, farro, or barley in a slow cooker. Grill or sear an extra serving of salmon or chicken at dinner for a light lunch with no pre-prep the next day.
Herbs and spices contain powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals called polyphenols, which can boost brain power and protect against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Adding herbs and spices to your food is an effective and tasty way to desalinate salts. But the benefits of cooking herbs and spices aren’t limited to lower sodium intake. Herbs and spices contain powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals called polyphenols, which can boost brain power and protect against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Try these tips for adding herbs and spices to your food (to turn fresh herbs into dried ones, use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh herbs):
There is no doubt that a plant-based diet can help prevent a host of health problems, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancer.
Foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, tofu, edamame, and tempeh are rich in plant protein, as well as vitamins, minerals, and a variety of different phytochemicals. Plus, they’re incredibly low in saturated fat, and many of them are great sources of fiber.
Replace meat, poultry, or fish with vegetable protein at three meals a day. Here are some ideas:
Tiny flaxseeds contain soluble fiber, an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and phytochemicals called lignans. Research shows that eating ground flaxseed regularly can help lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, and may protect against breast and prostate cancer.
Two tablespoons of ground flax provides 60 calories, four grams of fiber, and more than your daily ALA requirement. (You need to eat ground flaxseeds, as whole flaxseeds pass through the intestines undigested, meaning you won’t get all of their benefits.)
Add ground flaxseed to hot cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt, applesauce, muffin and pancake batter, or mix with lean ground beef or turkey for burgers or meatloaf. Whisk it with egg whites to make “breadcrumbs” for fish or chicken. You can also try adding a pinch of ground flax to your mustard or mayonnaise for a healthier sandwich spread.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Some of the beta-carotene you eat is also converted in the body to vitamin A, a nutrient that supports a healthy immune system.
There is no official recommended intake of beta-carotene, but experts agree that 3 to 6 mg per day is needed to prevent chronic disease. Guess what? A medium sweet potato contains 13 mg of beta-carotene, 1/2 cup carrot juice contains 11 mg, 1/2 cup boiled carrots contains 6.5 mg (1/2 cup raw carrots contains 5 mg), and 1/2 cup carrots. nutmeg contains 4.5 mg. Therefore, filling the stomach is not difficult.
Eating too much sugar, especially in sweetened drinks, increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. The goal is simple: replace all sugary drinks with water, tea, black coffee, herbal tea, unsweetened milk, or unsweetened skim milk.
While 100% fruit juice has no added sugar, it is still a concentrated source of natural sugar (and calories) that is devoid of fiber. Therefore, it is considered a sweet drink. Use a serving of whole fruit instead of juice. If you often drink juice to quench your thirst, replace it with water.
It is estimated that the average adult gains between one and two pounds a year. In some people, this gradual spread can lead to obesity. The good news is that you don’t need to make major changes to your diet to prevent weight gain.
Instead, research shows that a “small change approach”—cutting 100 to 200 calories a day through eating less food, more exercise, or a combination of the two—may help. Small diet and exercise adjustments are easier to incorporate into your daily routine and easier to maintain in the long run than the larger lifestyle changes needed to lose weight.
If you come home from work hungry and want to eat everything in sight, this tip will help prevent overeating at the end of the day. But that’s not all.
Eating every three to four hours also helps keep your blood sugar (energy) levels stable and provides energy for your afternoon workouts. Healthy snacks also give you the opportunity to increase your intake of important nutrients such as protein, fiber and calcium.
Snacks should include slow-burning carbs to fuel your muscles and brain, as well as protein and some healthy fat to keep you energized for longer.
If you like the convenience of energy bars, choose ones made with whole food ingredients like fruits and nuts.
If you’re worried about your waistline, it’s wise to set a deadline for dinner. (Unless, of course, you work the night shift.)