National Nutrition Month- Healthy Lifestyle- SMALL Changes lead to BIG Results

Living a healthy lifestyle might seem like a challenge, especially when you’re a busy mom, but it doesn’t have to be! If you make small changes to your daily routine, it will make a big impact on your health and your family’s health in the long run. You don’t need to give up sweets, carbs, eating out, or any of your favorite foods in order to see results! In fact, I would argue that you NEED to include all of these in order to be truly successful.

Below, I will share with you some of the top tips that I show my busy mama clients. These tips helped these modern moms reach their goals to live a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and to be the best version of themselves. You can do it too! With a few simple changes to your daily routine, you will see how easy it can be to reach your goals.

Tip #1: Follow the MyPlate Method

This method is a great tool to use at meal-time that will help you eat a more balanced diet. Cover half of your plate in vegetables, a quarter of it in protein, and a quarter of it in carbs. This is a great starting point for many who are trying to be healthier!

Portions vary from person to person because everyone’s body is different, everyone’s goals are different, and everyone’s starting point is different! However, practicing this method at meals is a great kick start to helping you reach your goals.

The best part about this method is that it can be used for children too! By following this method, we can set a good example for our children, as we reach our goals!

Tip #2: Eating Out the Right Way

Eating out is fun and you don’t need to sacrifice that in order to be healthy. You can eat out, order your favorite foods, and still be on track with your goals. You do NOT need to stick to ordering just salads anymore. Salads are healthy and delicious, but if you are craving pasta, then order the pasta! I’ll show you how at the end of this tip! Here are a few different ways you can incorporate your favorite foods when eating out, while still being healthy:

Option 1:

You can share a plate with your friend, coworker, or family member while eating out, which will decrease your portion size, which will in turn, decrease your calorie intake, decrease your fat intake depending on what you ordered, AND allow you to still enjoy your favorite meals. When eating out, a single dish could be anywhere from 2 servings to 4 servings worth of food, so sharing is always a great idea!

Option 2:

You can order an appetizer that includes vegetables such as a salad, edamame, cucumber wrapped sushi, or brussel sprouts, just to name a few. This will help you get your vegetable servings in for that meal and increase your fullness so that you are less likely to overeat at meal-time.

Option 3:

Limit eating out to 1-2 times a week, if possible. While we are able to eat out and lose weight, home-cooked meals are always healthier because you can control what goes into it. It is important to remember that it is what we do more often that will impact our health and if we are eating out daily, then it will make it more challenging to reach our goals. Eat out and enjoy your favorite foods, just not everyday!

Now back to the pasta example! Using the options above, if you are eating out with a friend, then one of you can order the pasta and the other can order a salad. Share the dishes so that you are able to decrease your calorie intake, decrease your fat intake, and increase your vegetable servings since pastas typically don’t have very many veggies. Now you can enjoy your pasta guilt free!

Tip #3: Decrease the Calories in your Coffee

Sometimes there are extra, or hidden calories in your daily coffee. Plain black coffee can be boring. In order to lose weight and keep it off, your diet has to be FUN, otherwise you will want to quit eventually. You have to enjoy what you are eating and drinking in

order for you to be successful long term! So, here are some nutritious tips to make your coffee taste good and help you reach your weight loss goals:

• Add 1 tbsp of Coffee Mate’s low fat vanilla creamer for a delicious 25 calorie cup of coffee.
• Add one of PRI’s Salted Caramel Manuka Honey squares into a cup of coffee, stir as it melts into it, and enjoy a flavorful cup of coffee that is only 36 calories and low in carbs. Manuka Honey is a great low calorie, healthy alternative to sugar or other sweeteners and it’s great to include in your daily coffee!
• Add almond extract and vanilla to your black coffee to spice things up!
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon and some steamed nonfat milk for a cup of coffee that is foamy and delicious.

Make ONE small change TODAY and see how easy it can be to get BIG results too! 

We can all make 100 changes to our lifestyle or our diets, but if you focus on too many at the same time, it will be challenging to keep up with them all, especially when you are already so busy with your children. The biggest recommendation I can make is to focus on only ONE small change you want to make, master that by making it into a new habit, and then, pick your next small change.

That is the secret to getting long-term results that LAST! You can do this! Start now!

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Author: Sandy Younan Brikho, MDA, RDN