My tips are simple and all about taking small steps to incorporate better habits for the long term so that eating healthy and exercising is part of your lifestyle and not a short-term program!
Tips so simple, they're perfect.
Nutrition Tips
- Avoid refined, processed and manufactured foods. Eat foods close to the earth.
- Include lots of color in your diet. Eat lots of color like green, red, orange, blue...think green veggies, blueberries, tomatoes, red bell peppers, oranges, squash...you get the picture! Find colorful foods you enjoy.
- Eat Broccoli to be heart healthy. Broccoli along with Kale and other dark leafy greens is high in vitamin K which research now shows may help keep arteries clear of life threatening blockages. Go green!
- Try to avoid a plate full of white foods!
- Don't keep tempting, fatty snacks in your pantry. I find that if you don't see them, you won't be as tempted to eat them. You're less likely to eat a lot of junk if you don't buy a lot of junk. Move healthier items to the front and make them easy to reach.
- Snack smart – my favorite healthy snacks include a fresh sliced apple with almond butter or peanut butter or cottage cheese with fruit. Also, keep cut carrot and celery sticks in the fridge as a healthy snack.
- Eat little bits of food throughout the day (5 meals a day) This strategy helps keep you feeling satisfied and gives your energy a boost.
- With large deli sandwiches or burgers, try cutting them in have before you start eating. You may find that a half is all you need and it makes you aware to stop eating when you are full rather than eating all that is on your plate out of habit.
- Instead of drinking straight juice, which can have a lot of calories and sugar, try another favorite of mine – a cranberry juice spritzer. Combine a splash of cranberry juice with sparkling water with fresh cut lime. It's delicious and refreshing. But with that said, a few juices boast important benefits and a 6 to 8 ounce glass packs antioxidants but wont blow your calorie budget. So if you eat fewer than 2 cups of fruit a day, add a glass of the following juices to your diet. Here are three good picks - Apple juice is full of vitamin C and potassium, orange juice is a great source of vitamin C and folic acid and Pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants.
- On sandwiches, skip the calorie and fat packed mayo and try just using some mustard or Dijon mustard; or add extra pickles or peperoncinis for taste.
- When cooking recipes that call for ground beef, try swapping out beef with lean, ground turkey. You will save calories and often won't even notice.
- Foods High in Pesticide Residues – Buy Organic:
Apples, grapes (imported), potatoes, bell peppers, nectarines, red rasberries, celery, peaches, spinach, cherries, pears, strawberries
Foods Low in Pesticide Residues:
Asparagus, cauliflower, onions, avocados, corn (sweet), papaya, bananas, kiwi, pineapples, broccoli, mangos, peas(sweet) - During cocktail hour, skip the sweet mixed drinks, which pack in a lot of calories and sugar. Instead choose a glass of white wine, which is about 80 calories vs. like 300 calories in a typical margarita.
- Don't get caught up in the latest fad miracle cure diet as a means to an end. People put faith in diets for the magic formula but it never lasts. It's confusing because all the different diet books contradict one another and yet they all may have a point and have validity behind their claims. But with all of them, as different as they all are, the problem lies in when people go off the diet they gain the weight back because hardly anyone can keep up with the structure of the diets. Not realistic. Make lifestyle changes.
- Drink lots of water. Keep a jug of ice water in the fridge and add fresh lemon or cucumbers to make it more festive and spa like.
- If you tend to be a late night snack person, try brushing your teeth, flossing and using some mouthwash. This is a great way to prevent you from eating empty calories usually out of boredom. Because if you are like me, once I brush I am less tempted to eat and have to re brush.
- Before you do overindulge, try to remind yourself how you felt after the last time you did that. Ask yourself, was it worth it? Did it make you feel good and was it really satisfying? Usually, it isn't. But some times, it was worth it. So move on and don't beat up on yourself over it. Think of it as just one day and try to be better the next day. Don't dwell on it and make a better choice the next time. Each day presents an opportunity to be better and make smarter choices.
- The key to eating is moderation. Since the early nineties, I have followed the 80/20 principle. If you make good choices 80% of the time, you have the 20% to play with – and have that burger and fries, or pizza and pasta or desert, whatever it is that you really want...and then not beat yourself up over it. Make good choices 80% and have fun and indulge 20%. It really works for me psychologically. If I have a craving, I let myself have it within reason but just not all the time. I think that is a fair trade off. Live your life, enjoy food and don't make food the enemy. It's a war you'll never win with that outlook and it draws so much energy, focus and life force out of you. Use that energy toward activities you enjoy, toward movement...things you enjoy.
Everything in moderation and don't deny yourself of occasionally enjoying your favorite indulgences. If you have a hotdog, do some extra squats. Fried chicken, do some extra crunches. At the end of the day, it is always about burning off more than you take in. - Exercise will always be key to weight management. If there is such a thing as a magic cure or a magic pill, it is exercise.
- There are no bad foods. Having overcome an eating disorder that I developed during my years as a gymnast, I have really learned to not look at food as good or bad. Because than we can become obsessed with wanting the bad foods. If I really crave a “bad food” such as a twinkie or some sheet cake from the supermarket, I will just have it. Then I usually find it didn't really taste as good as I had imagined and I get over it and crave it less. But when you totally deny yourself, it leads to you wanting more than you actually do!
- Listen to your body. I eat what I want – hamburgers, pasta, ice cream, bread but not at every meal. I have also learned to stop when I am full. Pay attention to how you feel when you're eating.
- As we age, it is important to eat good fats. Avocado and olive oil will help you absorb more anti aging antioxidants.
