by Mia Bremer
By the time you’re reading this column the holiday season is mostly past. Regardless of which holidays you celebrate, food is a central focus of many celebrations and it’s important we allow ourselves to enjoy these special times, including eating items that are traditional and important to us, our families and our communities. For many people, the holiday season is not a time of
celebration but a time that accentuates a loss or longing. For many, eating for comfort may be
part of coping, especially with easy access to comfort foods and sweets. With the new year,
however, it’s important to get back to making choices that support physical and mental health.
Weight gain may be a concern, but contrary to many social media posts, the average weight gain
is only one to one and a half pounds in the months between Halloween and New Years – not the
eight to ten pounds often reported. Consciously make choices to help you lose that pound each
year because, although a pound doesn’t make a big difference in your health, one pound weight
gain over ten years does!
The following are some strategies for getting back on track. Take them one at a time, make
small changes and strive to make healthy choices 80 percent of the time, allowing for life, fun
and joy to be part of all that you do and eat.
(These strategies are safe for most older adults, however, if you have special dietary needs,
please follow your doctor’s recommendations.)
Incorporate one new strategy each week or each month to slowly make permanent changes to
your health. These strategies are not intended to be used in the short term. A healthy lifestyle is a
journey, not a destination. Any strategy you incorporate short-term will have short-term results.
1.) Action First – Attitude Second – If you wait to feel motivated before you begin to eat healthy
food or exercise regularly, you will never do it. Motivation comes from results and results come
from acting.
2.) Eat Breakfast and Include Fruit or Veggies – If you are not hungry at breakfast, you are eating
too much the night before. After fasting for 10-plus hours, you should be hungry within an hour
of waking. You need to reset your metabolism by fueling your body soon after waking and
keeping fueled all day. People who do not start the day with fruit or vegetables have a
challenging time getting enough of these foods in their day. Focus on whole grain cereals, eggs
and lean meats or dairy.
3.) Eat High Nutrient Foods – Loss of muscle mass can affect appetite, as well as the healing
process. Muscle is our body’s “engine” and if we have a smaller engine, we crave less “fuel” or
food. It is important to eat high nutrient, calorie dense foods and to build muscle through
purposeful exercise. If you need to gain weight, include lean meats, nuts, fruits and veggies,
whole grains, breads and pastas and dairy products like hard cheeses and full-fat Greek yogurt. If
you need to lose or maintain, choose high nutrient, low calorie foods. These include fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products.
4.) Eat a Little Bit – More Often – Respond, do not react, to food. Plan your food each day. To
have a healthy metabolism that is revved-up and burning fuel all day, you must supply fuel all
day. Do not go more than 3-5 hours between eating “events”. Keep portions moderate and well-
balanced with protein, fat and carbohydrates part of each snack or meal.
5.) Limit Your Eating Out/Ultra Processed Foods – When you eat out, you do not know what you
are eating. The same is true with highly processed foods. Restaurants use extra salt and fat to add
flavor to foods. Processed foods include preservatives to stabilize them for a longer shelf life
along with flavor and color enhancers. Extra fat and salt have adverse health effects.
Preservatives have unknown but questionable effects on our bodies.
6.) Eat and Shop the Colors of the Rainbow – Fruits and vegetables are full of fiber and important
nutrients. Try for 5-6 servings a day (min.) and try for all the colors of the rainbow. Frozen is
fine! Vegetables – You do not have to love them; you do have to eat them. Find ways to prepare
veggies that make them delicious (roasting!)
7.) Eat Fiber – Fiber fills you up, keeps your digestive system healthy and prevents disease. Read
labels on breads and cereals. Buy bread or cereal with at least three grams of fiber per serving.
Work toward 25-35 grams per day. (Start slowly and work up to it if you are currently eating
little fiber.)
8.) Avoid Trans Fats and Saturated Fats – Eat Healthy Fats – Trans fats and saturated fats are
the nasty ones that can contribute to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Labels that list, “fully or
partially hydrogenated oils” have trans fats. Red meat, cheese and buttery sauces and desserts
have saturated fats so go ahead and enjoy them occasionally but limit to once a day. Read labels
– especially baked goods, soups and frozen entrees which often contain these fast. Avoid
creamed soups, heavy sauces, and mayonnaise-type salads.
9.) Do not Eliminate Any Food Group – Any eating plan that eliminates or drastically reduces any
food group is an unhealthy diet and one that you will not be able to, or want to, stick with for an
extended period.
10.) Track your Protein Intake – As you get older, you need to make sure you are getting enough
protein to maintain and grow muscle. Aim for 0.8 per pound of body weight in Kilograms. To do
this more simply, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36 to get approximate grams of protein per
day. Ex. 150 lbs. x 0.36 = 54 grams
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