Healthy Tips for the New Year
Ringing in the new year is a perfect opportunity to set resolutions, but excessive emphasis can lead to disappointment. Avoid fad diets and focus on small, specific goals for sustainable lifestyle changes. Learn how to set achievable New Year's resolutions that promote overall health and well-being.
Article by Dr. Cece Reeder
Ringing in the new year also comes along with new resolutions to encourage ourselves to become the best versions of ourselves. It is a great opportunity to look to ourselves, yet placing an excessive emphasis on your New Year’s Resolution will ultimately be met with disappointment.
So many New Year’s Resolutions, and goals in general, fail when they lack specificity, a plan on how the goal will be achieved, accountability, and when the goal is unrealistic. To ensure success, try creating a small goal focusing on one habit that you’d like to address. This small goal can be reassessed and modified periodically as you are seeing your desired change.
Finally, during this time, there are many promotions for different fad diets. Fad diets are proven to not be effective in sustainable weight loss and most have undesired associated health consequences. Various characteristics of a fad diet to look out for include promise of an increased amount of weight, specifically in a short window of time; requirement of the elimination of a particular food group; promotion of one specific food or food group; and encouragement of a particular product or liquid meal replacement.
Given the promised results, participating in a fad diet can be tempting; however, it is essential that lifestyle changes are sustainable. Unfortunately, the faster weight loss is achieved, the faster you will gain it back when your behaviors deviate from the diet; therefore, sticking to small changes at a time can promote an overall more healthful and sustainable outcome.
Holiday “this, not that” tips + healthy soup recipe for cold weather with seasonal ingredients
Instead of waiting for the New Year to start your wellness journey, make small changes now. Learn to set SMART goals, practice intuitive eating, and incorporate seasonal produce into your diet. Try our hearty potato leek soup recipe for a delicious and healthy holiday meal.
Article by Dr. Kelsey Reeder
Try this, not that - holiday edition :
o Instead of pushing off wellness goals till the New Year, try implementing one small change today
The most effect way to make a change is to make a SMART goal. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time oriented. This technique transforms a bold and unattainable goal, such as “avoid all desserts” into an individualized goal with clear guidelines. For an individual looking to improve his or her relationship with desserts at the holidays, a SMART goal version of this goal would be, “At the three holiday parties I am attending this holiday season, I will eat a dessert after I eating a balanced meal.” This SMART goal still allows the individual to enjoy the dessert, but will also assist in regulating hunger levels to avoid overindulging on the desserts.
o Instead of forcing yourself to have “self-discipline” around holiday foods, try adopting intuitive eating principles
Eliminate the “all or nothing approach.” Research consistently indicates that restriction is not only ineffective, but can contribute to weight gain. Shifting to adopting intuitive eating patterns allows for the focus to shift on how you feel in the eating process. This means, anticipating how you might feel, both physically and emotionally, whether you decide to consume or avoid a particular food.
o Instead of adopting a diet, recognize that all foods fit
All foods have a place in our lifestyle. As previously mentioned, diets and restrictions are not effective ways to achieve a particular health goal and further impair one’s relationship with food. Often, enjoying a food that you are craving is the healthier option because you are honoring your body; by doing so, you are satisfying your craving, and less likely to overindulge at a later event.
o Instead of falling into a rut of eating the same foods every day, try adding variety into your diet by incorporating December seasonal produce!
December produce: carrots, lettuce, winter cabbage, peas, dark leafy greens, brussels sprouts, potatoes, garlic, onions, beets, turnips, broccoli
Hearty Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients:
- 1-2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 2 large leeks, chopped
- Chicken stock broth
- ¾ pound of potatoes, peeled and cut (approximately 2 medium sized potatoes)
- ¾ cup sour cream + ¼ cup water mixed together
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and let leeks soften for 10-15 minutes
2. Add potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and seasoning to leeks and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes.
3. Remove bay leave. Using an immersion blender, puree.
4. Slowly add sour cream and water mixture to puree mixture.
5. Continue by adding heavy cream until desired consistency is reached.