Nutrition New Year’s Resolutions You Are Going To Want Make In 2017!

Winnipeg dietitians at A Little Nutrition Susan Watson, RD and Amberlee Anderson, RD had the opportunity to be on Global TV Winnipeg to talk about some healthy tips that you can make in 2017!

Here is the direct link to the replay: http://globalnews.ca/video/3157592/how-to-make-nutrition-a-priority-in-2017

Let’s make 2017 the year that you don’t actually set a New Year’s resolution to go on a diet, rather set small goals that are realistic and achievable!

Most people barely make it a couple weeks, some barely a couple days before giving up on their well-intentioned goals for the new year. Usually this is because people make unrealistic or unattainable goals, like going to the gym every morning. First of all, if you are not a morning person this will not work, and if you hate going to the gym you definitely won’t wake up early to go!

If you want to resolve to change something about yourself or your health, consider setting a specific goal instead. To make an effective goal, think about what kind of barriers are in the way of you achieving this goal. Perhaps your goal is eat more vegetables, but you don’t really know how to prepare vegetables in a way that you find tasty. This is a barrier, you must first address the barriers, and make a plan of how to overcome these barriers. To do this you could start researching new ways of cooking vegetables that you might enjoy, and try one new recipe a week.

Most importantly you must think about if you will be able to keep up this change in the long run. Is this change something you enjoy doing or do you dread doing it? If you do not enjoy it you will never stick with it. Figure out how these changes fit in your life and how to enjoy them. Find a fitness class that you enjoy like zumba, that way working out won’t feel like such a chore. Find a way to make these changes easy and exciting for you, then you will be more likely to stick with it in the long run.

Amberlee Anderson is our newest dietitian here at A Little Nutrition and these are her top tips for setting some nutrition goals that you can start working on that will have a big impact on your health and will help you improve your nutrition!

Eat out less. Commit to cooking and spending time in the kitchen. What kind of barriers are keeping you from cooking more? Not enough time? Lack of skill? Plan your meals out each week and prepare some meals ahead of time, or cook using a slow cooker so dinner is ready when you get home. If you do not feel skilled enough to cook, then start practicing. There’s no better way to learn than to try. You will feel accomplished when you develop new skills!

Eat more whole foods. Choose foods full of fibre and protein and ditch highly refined processed foods. Processed foods tend to have less nutrients and more calories than whole foods. Choose whole grains instead of refined white flours, whole grains contain every part of the grain which includes the parts rich in fibre, protein and healthy fats, which the refined flours remove. Choose whole foods like fruits over fruit juices. Fruit has nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals and only natural sugar, as opposed to juices that contain lots of added sugar and have lost a lot of their nutrients.

Don’t starve yourself all day! Eat healthy snacks between meals to keep your energy up!

Keep your home a positive health environment! Purge the danger foods and leave them at the store for special occasions, and stock your house with healthy foods and keep them in arms reach! Prepared and ready to eat!

Eat mindfully and without distractions. Turn off your cell phone, tv or computer when eating. When you’re eating distracted, you don’t realize how much you are eating or when you are full. Focus on your food and you will most likely not eat as much as you normally do but feel full and satisfied.

Improve your relationship with food. Many of us know what is healthy and not healthy, but then we still make bad choices. Often it is the relationship with food that needs to be repaired, and that is what working with a dietitian can do to help you.