4 Easy Tips to Improve Nutrition & Fitness

You promised yourself back in January that this would be the year that you make changes in order to meet your health & wellness goals. These goals may consist of losing weight, building strength, improving endurance, or just an overall revamp of your lifestyle. However small or large these goals are, it may be hard to know where exactly to start.

Through trial and error I've learned a few simple tricks to assist with healthy living:

1- Everything in moderation. Don't deprive yourself of the food you like. I find that doing this will only enhance the cravings. By providing yourself a "cheat meal" you can still have what you love but not promote overindulgence. Read food labels and nutritional facts to determine suggested serving size and allow yourself just that - a serving.

2- Remove or substitute one thing at a time. By modifying one thing at a time in your diet you're more likely to maintain this change over a longer duration. Remember this is a lifestyle change NOT a diet. For example: you enjoy a cup of coffee every morning with cream and sugar but would really like to try and make this choice healthier. An option would be to substitute cream for low-fat milk (diary or non-dairy like almond milk) OR simply remove/decrease the added sugar.

Other easy substitutions include:

• Pasta alternatives: veggie noodles, rice noodles, black bean pasta, quinoa pasta, etc.
• Mayonnaise or sour cream alternative: plain greek yogurt.
• Soda alternative: seltzer water.

3- Food prep Sunday is crucial. Strategies are implemented to avoid quick meal decision making. When feeling rushed to make a food decision most human's will default to whatever is the easiest and fastest. And fast doesn't usually mean healthy. Food prepping at the beginning of the week will provide you with the grab & go ease with fewer the calories. These recipes can be put together on a Sunday and last all week:

• Breakfast - Mason jar overnight oats: 1/2 C oats, 1/2 C almond mild, 1/2 C greek yogurt (any flavor), 1/2 cup fruit. Layer the ingredients and seal the mason jar. To serve, stir the ingredients together and eat.
• Breakfast - Crust-less quiche: whisk eggs (1-2 per serving) and tablespoon of milk per egg used. Optional additions that will enhance every bite include: spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, tumeric, etc), cheese, meat, and multiple veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, etc).
• Lunch - Mason jar salads: Layer hardy ingredients (i.e. bell peppers) then softer ingredients (i.e. cucumber, tomato), add protein (cheese or meat) and top with the greens of your choice. I typically choose hardier greens such as arugula and spinach but lettuce will work just fine.

4- Make a fitness goal - no matter how small or large the goal is. This can be a goal for the week, month or entire year. Goal setting is a great way to build confidence and feelings of accomplishment. Achieving a set goal will motivate you to continue striving for more.

• Train for a 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, or Marathon. Never ran before? The couch to 5K program is a reputable program for new runners.
• Join a gym. Make a frequency goal (2-3x per week) OR a weight goal for different exercises.
• Wake up and yoga - perform yoga daily. Perform 20-30 minutes of yoga when you rise in the morning in order to wake up your muscles and get ready for the day. Instructive videos can be found on Youtube for free.

Please email Dr. Kaitlyn Hamel with any questions pertaining this article at drhamel@seacoastsportsinjuries.com.