Healthy eating made easy

Help control your weight with these four everyday tips.

• First, focus on the purpose of food: Food is the fuel that keeps your body running. And to keep your body functioning well—with plenty of energy for all the activities you love—you need to take in high-quality fuel.



• Add a fruit or vegetable to every meal. Enjoy apple slices with breakfast. Pack a snack of grapes in your lunch. Add a serving of broccoli to your dinner. You'll benefit from the vitamins and minerals this extra serving of health contains, and your stomach will be satisfied by these filling foods.



• Drink more water. Your body needs this essential nutrient. Plus, drinking water is a good way to manage your hunger rather than reaching for unhealthy snacks. Let thirst be your guide for fluid intake, but you'll need more if you are active or are in very hot or very cold climates.



• Avoid foods with high amounts of fat, sugar, and salt. Foods high in these three ingredients alter the brain’s chemistry in such a way that makes you want to overeat them. Former FDA commissioner David Kessler, MD, calls this response “conditioned hypereating”: “conditioned” because our desire to eat these foods becomes automatic, even when we’re not hungry; and “hyper” because we eat these foods in excess, often unable to control how much we eat.

Maintaining Good Eating Habits

I am including a Kathy Smith bit of advice for consistency with eating. I will bold a few items, as well as comment with italics.
Melissa

Consistency also applies to eating - which is another question I'm often asked: How do you have the willpower to be good all the time?

Answer: I don't think in terms of "good" or "bad." Rather, I focus on eating in a way that serves me, my health, and my body. And that includes eating all kinds of foods, some of which many people may consider "bad." (Remember: bad foods are really only bad when not eaten in moderation).

If I had to explain it in terms of "good" and "bad," I'd say that you only have to be "good" 80 percent of the time. That allows you, pretty much, to do whatever you want with the other twenty and still not upset the equation. You can splurge on a Nestle's Crunch bar. Indulge your craving for Ben & Jerry's. Give in to the tempting smell of apple pie. Just be consistently on track the other 80 percent of the time.

By the same token, the 80-20 rule frees you from the trap of thinking that just because you ate four potato chips, you might as well eat the whole bag. (Don't eat the whole bag. That wouldn't be in moderation, now, would it?)

For instance, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, Katie, I developed the strongest craving for bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. While this might not seem strange to you, I'd not eaten a piece of bacon for fifteen years. And yet, I could sit down and eat not one but two BLTs at a single meal. Concerned, I checked with my doctor, who assured me that the craving was normal, and perhaps I needed a little more salt in my diet.

After Katie was born, I fortunately lost my craving for bacon. Unfortunately, I've never lost my craving for chocolate. (How many of you regularly crave chocolate?) This is an ongoing issue for me. In fact, I'm learning to control my relationship with chocolate. I allow myself to eat it once a week - no guilt, no shame, no worry. The other days, I nibble on fresh fruit, or homemade rice pudding, or suck on a piece of hard candy to satisfy my sweet tooth. (I find that making yourself eat fruit throughout the day - for snacks - helps ease that refined sugar craving). I've also learned not to keep large quantities of chocolate around the house. If there were, I'd be tempted to nibble on it every day. I know myself. Giving myself permission to indulge has taken chocolate out of the "bad" food category - and it's no longer an obsession.

I feel a sense of calm about my eating habits. I never feel deprived, and I don't like to listen to someone talk about calories or carbohydrates when I'm eating. (Me neither. Just eat and be happy :) My attitude is, when you're eating, enjoy. And when you're satisfied, stop.

That's what I tell people when they ask for my health and fitness secrets. I tell them, the secret is consistency. The three-month, give-it-all mentality is only good for players in the Super Bowl. But when it comes to developing a healthy lifestyle, it's a day in, day out, week in, week out, year in, year out game plan that leads to success.