Eat Smart
Changes do not have to disrupt your lifestyle to improve health parameters and maintain a healthy weight. Learn more about ways you can eat smart.
Here are some tips for healthy weight management:
1. Use small dishes and glasses. A full plate or glass is more satisfying than a dish partially filled. By using a small dish, you can fill it up without overloading portions.
2. Measure your portions in a measuring cup or measuring spoons until you are accurate in estimating. Once in a while check your estimate by measuring again.
3. Keep snacks and tempting foods out of sight and out of reach. Make it harder to get the treats so you have time to stop and make a decision to eat, not just eat from impulse.
4. Eat often enough. Your stomach usually empties in 3 to 4 hours so it’s not a surprise if you need snacks between meals. Waiting too long to eat tends to make the appetite bigger at the next meal and you may be tempted to overeat.
5. Protein portions should be 3 to 4 ounces at a meal or 5 to 6 ounces per day. This means meat portions are about the size of a deck of cards or the size of a woman’s hand. Each ounce of meat contains around 100 calories so large amounts of meat can sabotage weight loss efforts.
6. Watch for splurges on weekends. Lots of eating out or loading up on favorite foods and drinks can un-do your efforts from the rest of the week.
7. Try exercise to deal with cravings. Next time you feel the urge to splurge, take a walk or do something physical (away from the refrigerator). Research has shown that exercise can help calm the need for comfort foods and cravings.
8. Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes from the first bite of food until the brain gets the message that you’ve eaten. Eating slowly gives you the chance to feel full before you’re stuffed. Put your fork down between bites, take frequent sips of water, enjoy the conversation with others and eat foods that take time to consume.
9. Stop eating when you’re no longer hungry. Research shows that’s more effective than to stop eating when you’re full.
10. Look for gradual changes in your eating & exercise. Too many changes at once can overwhelm even the best efforts. Focus on simple things first, such as eating 3 meals per day or drinking water instead of sugared pop. Or decide to take a walk after supper every night. Plans that make you give up all your favorites foods and rearrange your whole day won’t likely last long.
11. There are no “bad foods”. Some foods should be eaten in large amounts (think: vegetables & fruits), while others should be eaten in small amounts. Depriving yourself of any particular food sets you up for eventual failure and possibly a binge.
12. Avoid environmental cues to eat. If you get hungry every time you see a bag of chips, you’ll do yourself a favor not to buy chips or keep them in the house. Signals to eat are everywhere but an urge to eat is not always the same as being physically hungry.
13. Change your recipes. Cut back on the amount of fat or sugar listed in a recipe when possible. Change the number of servings a recipe makes to make it stretch farther.
14. Sweeteners instead of sugars. Try sweeteners such as Equal, Splenda, Sweet-N-Low, Z-Sweet, Stevia or Purevia instead of sugar. Some sweeteners do better in baking but all can be used to flavor tea, coffee or your favorite cereal.