Monica shares five practical tips for healthier eating in the new year, including managing willpower, prioritizing protein, and indulging wisely.
Monica shares five practical tips for healthier eating in the new year, including managing willpower, prioritizing protein, and indulging wisely.
Mentioned in this episode:
Recalibrating your reward system: treating yourself better » Change Academy podcast
Happy New Year! Welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast, a show where I do my best to debunk, demystify, and de-stress the process of eating healthy! I’m your host, Monica Reinagel and as we kick off a new year together, I thought I’d share some practical strategies for improving your diet and nutrition.
This is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions–which makes sense. After all, we’ve just wrapped up a solid month of office parties, family get-togethers, comfort food, and holiday celebrations. So, it's no wonder that most New Year's resolutions have to do with a healthy lifestyle. And although one could get cynical about how long these resolutions typically last, I'd rather make the most of this inclination to renew our commitment to healthy habits.
To help fuel your efforts, here are my 5 best healthy eating tips.
Tip #1: Don't wear out your willpower
Whether you've resolved to eat less junk food or to get to the gym more, sticking to that resolution will probably require some willpower. But according to researchers Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs, most of us have a relatively limited supply of willpower.
When we call on our willpower to help us resist a temptation, we actually deplete our reserves, leaving us less able to resist the next temptation. Not only that, but the mental energy we spend exercising our willpower drains our capacity to perform other cognitive tasks!
Let's say, for example, that you show up at your weekly staff meeting to find that Linda has brought a batch of her famous homemade chocolate chip cookies. The cookies smell delicious and you know from previous experience that they taste every bit as good as they look and smell. Nonetheless, you're determined to stick to your resolution to avoid sweets. Ninety minutes later, the meeting is finally over and you've made it through without a single cookie! Good for you!
Unfortunately, the effort it took to NOT eat those cookies during the meeting made you less able to concentrate, problem-solve, and contribute at the meeting. And then, on your way out of the conference room, you walk by a bowl of chocolates that someone left on the counter. They're not even particularly good chocolates--nowhere near as tempting as Linda's cookies. But the fact that you have just spent 90 minutes resisting those cookies actually makes it more likely that you'll succumb to those cheap chocolates.
And that is why it is so important to remove as many temptations from your environment as you can. If you don't want to eat it, don't bring it into the house. If you must have it in the house, put it in a cupboard or closet that is out of sight and difficult to reach. If, after all that, you decide to indulge, serve yourself a single portion into a small bowl and put the rest away. I can't over-emphasize just how powerful this can be.
Most people think that they are far too smart for these sorts of simplistic things to make a difference. But study after study demonstrates that they work. And by engineering our environment to reduce unnecessary temptations, we increase the odds that when we need to call on our will power, we’ve got some in reserve.
Tip #2: To overhaul, start small
One of the biggest reasons that resolutions fail is that people set overly ambitious goals that aren't sustainable long term. A few small changes that you can stick to for the entire year are going to have a much more profound impact than a radical lifestyle makeover that lasts only a week or two.
Not sure where to start? Here are 4 things that I think will give you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of improving your overall nutrition:
Notice that I'm not asking you to eliminate anything from your diet entirely. You can even tackle these steps one at a time if that's more doable.
Tip #3: Cut Back on Grains
Cutting back on grain-based foods is a recurring theme on the Nutrition Diva show. Unlike some, I don't believe that grains are the source of all dietary evil. But it’s easy to over-consume them, often at the expense of other, more nutrient dense foods. And although whole grains offer a bit more nutrition, even those are best eaten in limited quantities.
So, if you are eating less bread, pasta, crackers, baked goods, and other grain-based foods, what foods (in addition to vegetables) should you eat more of to compensate?
In my own diet, as I've cut back on grains, I've allowed myself a little more liberty with foods that are high in fats. I'll snack on nuts rather than pretzels. I buy full-fat yogurt and milk—but usually skip the toast and bagels. All those vegetables I'm eating are often roasted or sauteed in a generous amount of olive oil. And I wouldn't dream of dressing a salad with fat-free vinaigrette!
Tip #4: Prioritize Protein
Protein is the Swiss Army knife of nutrients—it plays a role in just about every critical function in your body. Not only does it support muscle repair and growth, but it's also vital for maintaining bone health, helping to keep your skeleton strong and resilient as you age.
Protein contributes to brain health as well, providing the building blocks for neurotransmitters that regulate mood, memory, and cognitive function. It’s also essential for producing enzymes and hormones that support everything from digestion to metabolism. And when it comes to your immune system, protein creates antibodies that help your body fight off infections.
Another bonus? Protein helps regulate your appetite, keeping you fuller for longer. This can make it easier to avoid mindless snacking or overindulging in less nutrient-dense foods.
This doesn't mean you need to load up on massive steaks or chug protein shakes. Instead, try to include at least some protein in every meal and snack, and diversify your sources. Eggs, fish, poultry, red meat, beans, lentils, tofu, and Greek yogurt are all good sources.
Tip #5: Indulge wisely
Part of my strategy for long-term success is to allow for occasional indulgences. As much as I love vegetables, I also enjoy pizza, French fries, ice cream, and Swedish fish. And although I don't eat them every day, or in unlimited quantities, I don't feel guilty when I do eat them.
I suggest you save your splurges for things that you truly enjoy and not to succumb to junk foods that aren't even particularly appealing, just because they're sitting there.
There's also no law that says an indulgence has to be empty calories. Feel free to luxuriate instead in wholesome foods that you find particularly crave-worthy. Splurge on a pint of fresh raspberries and add a splash of creme fraiche. Or some high-end chocolate dipped in peanut or almond butter.
And, finally, when eating something purely for pleasure (as opposed to for nutrition), be sure to be there when it happens! It's not an indulgence if you have no memory of the experience. Instead of mindlessly munching on M&Ms while you fill in your expense report, stop what you're doing and savor every one. Save the blue ones for last and linger even longer over those.
And for more on finding ways to indulge without regrets or consequences, you might enjoy episode #118 of my Change Academy podcast, in which we talk about recalibrating your reward system. I’ll include a link in the show notes to that (or you can find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
And with that, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year from all of us at Quick and Dirty Tips! Let's make next year our healthiest year yet!
Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Our team includes Brannan Goetschius, Nathan Semes, Davina Tomlin, Holly Hutchings, and Morgan Christianson.and Nathaniel Hoopes.