Sunday, January 15, 2012

9 Ways to Stay Motivated to Eat Healthy

Incorporating healthy goals into your New Year's resolutions is a great way to start fresh. Try these tips to stay on track as time passes and your resolve weakens.

If you’ve made a resolution to eat healthy and exercise more, you’re not alone. Losing weight and exercising are two of the most common New Year’s resolutions. But as time passes, it’s easy to forget your resolutions and your new nutrition plan, and let your bad habits creep back in. Here are nine ways to stay motivated to eat healthy and reach your goals for the next 12 months and beyond.
1. Have a Weigh-in
Weigh yourself every day or every other day at about the same time. Most people weigh less in the mornings before they eat, so that may be the best time of day to do it. “The reason I recommend weighing yourself daily is that you see trends, such as weight gain, sooner rather than later," says Marjorie Nolan, MS, RD, a nutritionist with a private practice in New York and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "And if you have gained weight, you can nip it before 2 or 3 pounds turns into 5 or 6 and become that much harder to lose.”
2. Put Money Down
Hire a personal trainer or nutritionist to help you reach your fitness and nutrition goals. Or pay for extra fitness classes at the gym. You need to truly invest in your success, Nolan says. “When you pay for something, you’re more willing to commit to it,” she explains. Consider it your holiday present to yourself.
3. Start Fresh
It’s a new year — not only for the calendar but also for your refrigerator and pantry. Purge the junk food from your cupboards and start with a clean slate as you move to healthier eating habits. “Don’t keep three dozen Christmas cookies in your freezer if you don’t have to,” Nolan says. Discard the unhealthy choices you made and restock with healthier versions.
4. Plan Ahead
Plan time to exercise and to cook and eat healthy meals. If you schedule time for exercise just as you do for doctors’ appointments, you’ll find it’s easier to stick with it. The same goes for eating healthy. Plan a healthy menu and write a shopping list to take to the store. It’s easier to stick to your nutrition goals when you have a list while shopping. You’ll also be better equipped to make healthy meals and snacks at home when the foods you need are handy.
5. Set Realistic Goals
You’re more likely to stay motivated when you have a realistic plan rather than vague wishes or overly optimistic ideals. First be specific. Instead of saying, “I’m going to lose weight,” set a goal to lose 3 to 5 pounds in one month. Then, be realistic. For example, instead of giving up sweets entirely, say “I’m going to only eat dessert three times a week instead of seven.” If your nutrition plan includes realistic goals, you’ll be more likely to achieve them, says Nolan.
6. Reward Your Success
Your goal could be to lose 2 pounds or to not eat seconds at any meal for a week. Whatever it is, when you reach it, reward yourself with something small — just be sure it’s not a food-related treat. Go to the movies with a friend. Get your nails done. Buy that new sweater. Go for a walk in the woods with your dog. These types of rewards help provide the incentive you need to continue working toward bigger goals.
7. Write It Down
Putting your actions down on paper helps you focus what you’re doing to help (or hurt) your goals. If you keep a food journal, you can look back at what you’ve eaten, which could be more or less than you realize. Joining an online support group where you can share your food journal with others can help, says Nolan. “When you know other people are seeing it, you’ll be more motivated to stick to your healthy eating habits,” she adds.
8. Try New Recipes and New Gadgets
Look for healthy recipes online and in newspapers and magazines. Try the ones that appeal to you most. Breaking up your routine with new recipes keeps your healthy eating plan interesting. And if you’re not bored, it’s easier to stick to your goals. Buying new cooking items is another way to stay excited about healthy cooking, says Nolan. “Whenever I get a new kitchen appliance — pots, pans, food processor, or even a knife — I want to play with it, which can help me expand what I’m eating in a healthy way.”
9. Be Forgiving
What if you can’t resist and you eat that piece of pecan pie from Christmas or dig into a bag of chips? Don’t be too hard on yourself. You can’t change what you’ve eaten, but you can make better choices at your very next meal, Nolan says. If you wait until tomorrow or Monday to get back to eating healthy, it will be that much harder.
Adopting a nutrition plan at the start of the year and sticking to it as the months pass can be much easier than you think, especially if you employ these tricks to help you along the way.
Last Updated: 01/03/2012
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Saturday, January 14, 2012

here's an intriguing twist on a veggie lasagna...

Squash and Leek Lasagna

Quick Info:
Servings
Contains NutsContains Nuts Contains Wheat/GlutenContains Wheat/Gluten Contains DairyContains Dairy VegetarianVegetarian Heart-HealthyHeart-Healthy Diabetes-FriendlyDiabetes-Friendly
Nutritional Info (Per serving):
Calories: 278, Saturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 464mg, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Total Fat: 9g, Carbs: 37g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Protein: 14g
Carb Choices: 2
Recipe Source:
Eating Well
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 h 40 mins
Rest Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 2 h 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 10 ounce(s) pasta, lasagna noodles, whole wheat
  • 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
  • 4 large leek(s)
  • 1/2 cup(s) flour, all-purpose
  • 4 cup(s) milk, fat-free
  • 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper, black ground
  • 2 pounds squash, butternut
  • 6 ounce(s) cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1/4 cup(s) nuts, pine nuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles until not quite al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot and cover with cool water.
 
3. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.
 
4. Sprinkle flour over the leeks; stir well. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk in a slow stream and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Whisk in thyme, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from the heat.
 
5. Assemble lasagna in the prepared baking dish by layering one-third of the noodles, one-third of the sauce, half the squash, one-third of the cheese, half the remaining noodles, half the remaining sauce, all the pine nuts, all the remaining squash, half the remaining cheese, all the remaining noodles, all the remaining sauce and all the remaining cheese. Cover with parchment paper then foil.
 
6. Bake the lasagna for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbling and lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving (or follow make-ahead instructions).

Friday, January 13, 2012

Music for 2012

Here's a great article describing the health benefits of music... all types of music. It is called, Music as Therapy.  I know it works for me...Enjoy, Fran.

Hello 2012

Hello world of healthy thinkers... after some hiatus, we are back to write about healthy living for the new year. Right now it's sprinkling snow outside. It's been 40 and sunny around here lately, great weather for dog walking and wandering around campus. But now it's looking like January again, and with that comes consequences... for example, when it snows, after it's been raining and freezing, ice patches lay hidden in dangerous places. Winter walking sometimes has to slow down and shorten up when the ice and snow cause trouble. So then one wonders, "how might I revise my daily schedule to include other sorts of exercise and activity?" Of course there are always yoga classes when one is able to conveniently fit them into a regular weekly schedule, as well as trips to the gym (or did my membership run out already, since I haven't been there in a while and can't exactly remember?), and maybe even creating a new swimming schedule. Of course there are always options for vacuuming and doing laundry; or one might consider exercising on the yoga mat in the living room. The point is that there are options. And the mandate is to simply take some time to focus oneself, work on creating a new schedule for winter, and decide to stick to it even when the weeks get cold and time management becomes difficult.

My goal for this weekend: make a new plan for next week that may (sorry dog) shorten the outside dog walking, and focus more on various indoor activities. And then, come Monday, begin to implement, in a reasonable fashion.

What is your exercise and activity schedule going to look like this winter?