By Carin Clegg, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Do you often find that you have some new–found energy to start a brand new habit at New Year’s? Perhaps one of those fad diets or exercise regimes? I urge you to stop right there. Rather than going crazy and trying to go to the extreme with that all or nothing type of thinking, I encourage you to take on a more sensible mindset. Focus on all the positives that you do and plan to make a few tweaks or build some skills.
One of the most impactful things you can do is opt for sensible eating. Sensible eating does not sound exciting but it will pay off in the long term. Sensible eating involves having several skills such as:
Eating what the body needs
- Rather than labelling foods as good or bad, ask yourself are they nutritious and how will they nourish my body?
- Aim to get all the nutrients you need each day from food, not supplements. When you eat all the nutrients your body needs, it will function at it’s best and medications will also work optimally too.
- Include a wide variety of foods from the 5 food groups daily: wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, protein rich foods, including plant based options. What do you need to eat more of this year?
- Drink enough fluids: Aiming for at least 2 litres or 8 lots of 250ml glasses a day is recommended. Fluids include tea and coffee, juice, milk also.
Eating balanced meals
Build your meals with:
- Half the plate of non–starchy vegetables or salad.
- A fist–sized portion of complex carbohydrate foods: wholegrains like bread, rice, pasta sweet potato. Choose more if you are quite active and need the energy or perhaps a bit less if you are not that active or going to bed soon after your meal.
- About 100g of protein rich foods such as 2 eggs, fish, meat or legumes.
- Ask yourself which meals that you eat regularly, can you make more balanced?
Eating at regular times of the day and avoid skipping meals
- Aim to eat something every 3 hours so you don’t become overly hungry and overeat. Skipping meals, especially breakfast, reduces your body’s metabolic rate and helps you store energy rather than burn it.
- Eating regularly helps your body to regulate many hormones in the body such as those responsible for hunger and satiety, blood sugar levels, mood and sleep.
- Eating regularly also helps you to stay energised and focused over the day, reducing our risk of falls as you get older.
Eating mindfully
- Mindful or intuitive eating is the practice of tuning into your body’s hunger and fullness cues, as well as, all of your senses (taste, sight, texture, smell and sound) before, during and after eating.
- Mindful eating can help you have more satisfaction when eating and develop a positive relationship with food, eating without guilt or worry.
- It helps you to learn how to trust your body to tell you how much or little of certain types of foods to eat to be healthy.
Meal planning and cooking
- Meal planning and cooking helps you keep up those healthy eating habits and stay in control of your health.
- Knowing what you need to buy when going shopping makes your shopping trip quicker and less expensive without impulse buys.
- Knowing what to cook in the evening when your brain is already a bit frazzled, takes the hardest part out of your food prep task.
- If you are not keen on the idea of a fortnightly menu, have a list on the fridge of meals you like to cook and add to your shopping list for the week.
Reading food labels
- Ideally buying foods that are fresh, in their whole form, minimally processed and packaged is best. However, for some of those trickier options like breakfast cereals and yoghurts it can be worthwhile learning what to look out for on the label.
- A good place to start is the ingredients list. If the product has a lot of ingredients in it, it might be best to just leave it on the shelf.
- When comparing two products use the per 100g column. As a general rule, and, depending on the product, opt for low fat options: less than 3g total fat per 100g, then low sugar, less than 2.5g per 100ml or 5g per 100g. And don’t forget fibre: aim for more than 3 g fibre per 100g.
So stay calm and in control by making slow, sustained and sensible changes to your lifestyle and I guarantee your efforts will pay off long term.
Carin Clegg is the Director of Bright Diets, is a Paediatric Dietitian and Fitness Professional with an interest in sustainability. Carin wants everyone to be clever about their eating to feel happy, healthy and vibrant! Reach out at 0413 774 411, www.brightdiets.com.au or on the socials.