New Year’s Resolutions Worth Keeping

While any time is a good time to start a new healthy habit, the start of the New Year seems to be one of the most popular. If one of your goals for 2015 is to become a healthier version of yourself, some well-planned resolutions can help you get there.

Top Healthy Habits

Changing our habits can seem like a big undertaking, but there are many small things that

together can add up to big results. Some of the most popular strategies to improve overall

health include getting enough sleep, starting off the day with breakfast and eating foods that

have been prepared from fresh, whole ingredients. If we look at strategies used by those who

have successfully improved their health, these trends may be headed in the right direction. Of

people who have successfully lost and kept weight off, almost all made changes in both their

eating and exercise habits, with eating breakfast, daily exercise and minimizing television

viewing being among the most popular habits adopted.

How to choose?

When it comes to resolutions, less is often more. Picking one or two changes that you can

stick with long term is a better strategy than making a long list that you give up on before

the end of January. Taking a close look at your current habits is a good place to start when

deciding on the best goals for you. Online tools like Supertracker and apps like MyFitnessPal

or Lose it can give you a quick idea of where you stand with both your food and exercise

behaviors and will give you a way to track how you do with your resolutions. If you need more

personalized advice, speaking to a Registered Dietitian can be very helpful.

How to make your resolution last

Change can be difficult, which is why so many of us give up on our resolutions as quickly

as we make them. Set yourself up for success by making your resolutions easy to keep. If one

of your goals is to eat more vegetables, make sure you have them around you whenever you

are eating. Keep them on hand at home for snacking and cooking, choose to eat at places

that you know offer a variety of delicious vegetable dishes and ask friends for their favorite

veggie recipes.

REFERENCES:

1. “Culture of Wellness 2013” report, The Hartman Group. Available at http://www.hartman-group.com.

2. The National Weight Control Registry. Available at http://www.nwcr.ws/.

Written by Jennifer M. Ignacio, MS, RD.

Comments

SNOW DAY! And 4 Snowy Food Facts

Hello Huskies! Hope you've been staying safe and warm while enjoying your snow day. Changes to our hours of operation are being posted to our website as well as our Twitter and Facebook pages so be sure to check those out for updates throughout this snowy Tuesday. With the serious info out of the way, we're here to have some fun too. In between Netflix binge-watching sessions, how about some interesting snow-related food facts? 1. Hostess Sno Balls are actually upside-down Hostess CupCakes You know them as those pink or white shredded coconut and marshmallow delicacies, but since the 1950s, the inner cakes have been manufactured exactly the same way as their chocolate icing-covered CupCake counterparts. 1 2. Canada is much more than snow Our snowy neighbor to the north is actually the 5th largest agricultural exporter in the world. Canada also produces 85% of the world's maple syrup so whether you enjoy it on French toast at brunch or spaghetti during Christmas, there...

Healthy Alternatives While Celebrating Culinary Diversity

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Our latest Menus of Change principle is "Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Discovery" and over the next few weeks our residential dining halls will be featuring menu items that celebrate the cultural diversity of our associates. As I was reviewing recipes in preparation for these events at both International Village and Stetson, it occurred to me that some of the ingredients in the traditional recipes could be swapped out for healthier alternatives while also remaining faithful to tradition. Here are some examples of ways to make recipes even a little bit healthier (which means you can enjoy them even more often!): Instead of using butter why not use a fat free margarine? Canola, safflower or olive oils could also be substituted Rather than using whole milk try a skim, evaporated skim or even plain nonfat yogurt can be used Instead of using whole milk cheeses, look for ones that are made with part skim Low fat or fat free sour cream can ...

Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolutions

With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Melissa Pryputniewicz A new year brings the hope and promise of new starts. This makes it the perfect time for people to make resolutions to change certain behaviors. But even with good intentions many people don’t succeed in keeping their resolutions. A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that only half of the people who made a resolution stuck with it after six months. So you may be asking, what are the keys to success? Calvin and Hobbes , Bill Waterson Make Resolutions Realistic and Specific Many people make big resolutions like "I want to lose weight," or "I want to eat healthier." While these goals highlight positive changes, they are not very specific. Instead trying reframing your goals into more specific terms. Not only will this help you measure when you have achieved a goal, but it also gives you a clear plan of action for starting to work on the resolution. Break Big Goals Into Smaller Ones ...

Choosing Healthy Foods

Search This Blog