Avoiding Health Mistakes In The New Year. . . .

The Washington Post had an article on this subject this week that I found interesting. The snippets are from readers, and reminds me of important advice we’ve long given at Green Mountain. For the full effect, take a gander at the article itself. I list below the healthy weight loss tips that stood out for me, with a few comments of my own following the tip. If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you won’t necessarily find these insights revealing, but they do bear reminding.

“Don’t go on a diet.” So what do we do when we feel like we’ve overdone things and need to find a healthier weight? Eat sensibly — three meals a day and snacks if we need them. Healthy eating includes plenty of lean protein, vegetables and fruit and reasonable amounts of healthy starch foods like whole grains (wheat, rice, oatmeal), legumes (beans and peas), winter squashes, etc. This type of eating keeps us satisfied. If we also feel like eating a piece of chocolate or other treat, we can be satisfied with a small amount because we’re not hungry.

“Don’t give up! On exercise, that is.” But don’t do it for weight loss; do it to feel well. And regular, reasonable exercise does just that — it helps us feel great! And that helps us keep doing the other things that are important for healthy weights — like eating sensibly. It creates its own feedback loop.

“Don’t think you can do it alone.” Support is one of the key predictors of success. You can find support from friends and/or family, or you can find it online via blogs like this or other venues. Just get it. It helps you stay the course when things get tough…and they will get tough at times as we our busy lives and self-doubts get in the way of living healthfully.

Hope your 2008 has started off strong. We’ll do our best to help keep you going with our posts each week!

Tags:
healthy eating ,
weight loss“> healthy weight loss ,
healthy weight ,
diet