Hitting potholes on your health journey? Going the wrong way with your eating habits?
If your well-intended New Year’s Resolutions are drifting off course in the rear-view mirror, this automobile analogy from Dr. Mary Shotwell of Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU) can help you get back in the driver’s seat.
“Think of driving a car,” Dr. Shotwell said in an interview with the Provo Daily Herald. “None of us drives perfectly. It’s a series of corrections. I’m not steering right. I have my foot too heavy on the gas and I need to ease up. I need to press the brake gently. It’s the same thing with healthy eating. I didn’t do that well this day, so let me calibrate back and tomorrow I’ll eat well and cleanse my system. Those are the kind of things that I think people really need to evaluate on an ongoing basis.”
In conjunction with National Nutrition Month in March—an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics-sponsored annual campaign—here are some more of her health recommendations:
Embrace the process
There’s a good reason why “Progress, not perfect” is a popular phrase. It’s true. Patience can be pivotal as people try to navigate healthy eating. Slip-ups come with the territory. Be willing to make slight changes along the way.
“Give yourself grace not to be perfect,” said Dr. Shotwell, a professor in RMU’s Health Sciences program. “Realize that you may need to calibrate up or down with your habits or behaviors.”
Even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference.
“They don’t have to be drastic steps,” she said. “We don’t have to bite off more than we can chew. They can be small habits that you change gradually.”
Focus on the Basics
Some routine staples should include eating your veggies, adding fruit to your diet, limiting sugar, and avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates, and including fiber-rich whole grains. It’s not exactly rocket science, Dr. Shotwell noted. But some things can be difficult even if they are simple.
“It’s about balance,” she said.
Eating healthier, as the revamped food pyramid from the Department of Health and Human Services suggests, should also include healthy fats, lean protein, and dairy.
Build Good Habits
Knowing what to eat is one thing; actually eating what you know will help your health is another story. It takes work, dedication, and drive to keep moving down that road to an improved you.
“Healthy habits—or the lack of them—is the thing that gets in the way of healthy eating,” Dr. Shotwell said. “Busy families have to get to activities, so it’s easiest to just give some processed food as a snack. It can be difficult to make dinner so you end up getting fast food. We’re busy, but we have to have food.”
She recommends preparing meals in advance. Prepping food over the weekend can help people feel like they’re in control of what they eat during the week. Having healthy meals (and snacks) ready on hand can make it easier to make the healthiest choices when hunger hits.
“At Rocky Mountain, a lot of the students are graduate students who do meal prep for dinners and lunches and then they carry their lunch with them every day,” she said. “Then they feel better about their eating.”
Another tip: Keep an eating log.
“There are apps that can help track what foods we are eating,” she said. “When I track, I eat healthier.”
(Click to read the full Daily Herald article.)
Tips for the Ages
- Teens to 20s
- Make sure to get enough calcium (1,000 milligrams per day) to help your body build up your bone density.
- 20s to 30s
- Folic acid is an important nutrient for women—especially those who are having babies—in this age range.
- 30s to 40s
- Eating ample fiber (25-31 grams), fruit (1.5-2 cups) and veggies (2.5-3 cups) can promote good health.
- 40s to 50s
- Get regular exercise and be mindful of what/how much you eat with decreasing caloric needs.
- 60s and Beyond
- Protein helps maintain naturally decreasing muscle. Vitamin B12 is another key nutrient for older adults.
(Source: eatright.org)
