New Year, New Diet?

It’s taken years of school, personal history of struggling with obesity, and many years of experience as a dietitian, to now know the secret to weight loss and managing a healthy weight. I’ve read countless nutrition books, research articles, news stories, etc. I’ve watched endless health and nutrition documentaries. I’ve listened to numerous podcasts. There are more, and always more to learn, I know. I’ll get to it. But I already know enough to know the answer.

The answer to achieving weight loss and managing a healthy weight is:

complicated.

unique to you.

based on your specific co-existing health conditions, activity level, and lifestyle.

not a one size fits all meal plan.

not a shake, supplement, or pre packaged meal.

not an overly restrictive diet.

prioritizing whole body health instead of a number on the scale.

Save your time, money, and sanity. Skip the temptations of the quick fix, cookie cutter, diet plans that flood all the ads and social media posts. Believe it or not, you can still improve your health without obsessing over the scale. Let’s talk about some resolutions you can do to get your year started in a healthy way.

Schedule your check ups

This is a great starting point! Being proactive about your health starts from the inside out. Lab work is an easy way to identify potential issues that can be impacting your body. It’s also a good reference point for dietitians to review.

Create a supportive environment

Organizing your pantry with healthier foods, stocking your refrigerator with fresh produce, keeping water bottles handy, etc are all ways to help encourage positive dietary changes.

Form a schedule

New habits only become routine through repetition. Set realistic and manageable schedules for sleep, physical activity, etc. While you may feel the urge to start off with a bang, consistency is most important. Heavy workouts on little sleep will only cause you to quickly burn out.

Incorporate stress management techniques

How you eat and how your body handles the food you eat can both be impacted by stress. It’s important to reduce outside factors that cause stress or look for ways to balance it. Obviously things like work, family, finances, can all cause unavoidable stress. Try to attack the issues you can control and add stress reducing techniques for the ones you can’t. Making time for working out, aromatherapy baths, meditation and prayer, counseling, are all methods that can an impact on how your body handles stress.

Lean on others

It’s important to always surround yourself with a strong support system. Encouraging friends, family members, medical professionals, counselors, can all be a vital part of your team.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!