Improve Your Health This Year - 5 Tips

Happy New Year! What are your health goals this year? Have you been putting off improving your diet because it seems too hard? Healthy habits can keep you well. All it really takes is to pay attention and to make conscious choices. Keep it simple by focusing on these five things.

If you've read Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food, you'll find the first three items familiar. I didn't actually intend to duplicate his recommendations - I just came up with the same basic points. He puts it even more succinctly: eat food, not too much, mostly plants. His book is a good read.

1. Eat fruits and vegetables - lots of them

Fruits and vegetables are loaded with healthy nutrients. Besides vitamins and minerals, they contain anti-oxidants, flavonoids, phenolic acids, resveratrol and much more. The term phytonutrients is a catch-all phrase used to refer to all of these nutrients. Thousands of phytonutrients have been identified, and we keep discovering more. This is one reason why you can never get all the nutrition you need from a pill; nature does it best.

Plants grown without pesticides or herbicides are better for us. This is a good reason to buy organic or, better yet, local produce from someone who you know doesn't spray. Plants that have to protect themselves produce more phytonutrients - which also protect us. The FDA has stated that pesticide residuals found on American plants are safe, but there is evidence to the contrary to make me question their ruling. If the higher price of organic produce is a problem, consider starting with the "dirty dozen" - the 12 fruits and vegetables that test with the highest pesticide levels. You can get the list of what has the most and least residual at http://www.ewg.org.

Finally, one big advantage of getting more fruits and vegetables is that they are filling. If you are busy getting your recommended 9 servings a day, you'll run out of room for less healthy foods. Eat a variety and include a rainbow of colors. Make an effort to include greens, the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts), and beans and legumes. But really - they are all good and impact our body chemistry in healthy ways.

2. Eat real food

Processed food , high in saturated and vegetable fats, is a primary source of omega-6 fats. I'll write more about these interesting fats in coming months, but for now let me just say that they increase inflammation and slow our metabolism. Inflammation increases our risks for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc, and lower metabolism makes it easier to gain weight (which in turn increases our risk for all those diseases). When you feel tempted by snack foods, junk foods, packaged foods, fried foods - remember they make your metabolism (and you) more sluggish.

Carbohydrates are also hurt by processing. The refining process strips away most of the nutrients and even though we add some of them back to enriched flour, it's not the same. We are throwing away the very nutrients that we need to digest and use those foods. The more often you can choose whole grains or carbohydrates in their original form the better. Eat an assortment of grains including steel cut oats, quinoa, barley, millet and brown, red or wild rice.

Beware of food labels. They are designed to sell food and can be misleading. Often, the foods that don't need labels (like fruits and vegetables!) are the best choices. You can buy healthy packaged foods - just choose wisely. With canned tomatoes and beans, check salt content. Get frozen vegetables without added fats or salt. Avoid products with long lists of ingredients with names you don't recognize and can't pronounce.

3. Eat moderate amounts

Eating too much at a time is the internal equivalent of a flood. It is good to spread out your eating with a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add planned snacks between meals that are further than 3-5 hours apart. It is okay to be hungry before a meal, but avoid reaching the point of being ravenous. Once you reach that level of hunger, it is hard to make good choices and hard to stop eating even once you are full.

Some people like to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. If you need to do this for health reasons and it works for you, then by all means continue doing so. But most of us end up eating too much. Multiple small meals can end up looking like continual grazing and the calories do add up.

4. Stay active

Staying active is just as important as the fuel you use. Healthy eating and exercise work best when done together. The new exercise guidelines recommend getting at least 2 ½ hours a week of aerobic exercise with strength building exercises twice a week. Most people need more than that to lose weight or maintain weight loss, but what I really like about the guidelines is that they are achievable.

If you are not currently exercising, I recommend that you get started by walking a short way nearly every day. Even if you just start with 10 minutes, start somewhere and let it become a habit. Start with an amount that is comfortable for you, that you can do without feeling pain or exhaustion. Once that is comfortable, you can begin to lengthen the time. As exercise becomes part of your routine, you may enjoy adding workouts at a local gym or taking classes for yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi. Experiment to see what you enjoy - let it be fun.

5. Get enough rest

Sleep is important. During sleep our appetite hormones are adjusted. Getting too little sleep can increase appetite, weight and inflammation. I think it is just as important to get some rest or quiet time during the day. Being tired is one of the most common reasons I hear for random eating. Taking breaks and having regular time to refresh and re-energize helps you feel centered and balanced (which makes it easier to make healthy food choices).

Sure, I make it sound easy. I know that actually living healthy habits is not very easy in today's world when we are faced with so many temptations. Keep in mind that it's all good. This is not something you can fail at; even if you do it better some days than others. Every good choice you make has value.

Plan to include your old favorites in moderation. Expect to have some days when your eating is mindless. When you notice, simply go back to your good habits. I think of it like meditation - when my mind takes over (as it always does), I just gently bring my awareness back to my breath. Try this with your habits and may this be a healthy year for you!

Kathy Nichols is the Healthy Habits Coach. As a registered dietitian and certified life coach, Kathy helps people who are tired of diets and feeling guilty find a way of eating that is sustainable, healthy and enjoyable.

Website: http://healthyhabitscoach.com

Blog: http://healthyhabitscoach.wordpress.com