Eat Better Today! Here's How!!

Hello Everyone,

In the last newsletter, I said that I was going to give you some ways to eat better in this newsletter. I am happy to do it, but this is not going to be filled with a plan of what to eat every day. What you eat has to be stuff that you like and works for your body. I would like very much to give many pointers to guide anyone that is interested. First off, this is different for different people, because everyone already has their own eating habits. Some that will read this eat really well, and some horrible, and most are somewhere in between. So please read this and ask questions if needed.

First and foremost, ask yourself why should you eat better?? How about to be healthy, live longer, and feel better. I can't think of any better reasons than that! So please read, and use those reasons to make a change, even if it is a small one.

To start, most people simply eat too much, of whatever food it is. Let's remember, that even too much of healthy food is still calories in. Typically, healthy foods are much less calorie dense than unhealthy foods, so you can eat more of them. So to start by making a small change, try eating less at each meal, or if dinner is your real problem, start with that meal and put less on your plate, and only eat what's on it, and then stop for the night. And try not to snack after dinner, because let's admit it, we normally snack at night out of habit, not due to need or because we are reeaallly hungry, we are just used to eating something at 8 or 830 each night.

Once you have your portion size under control, then think about the types of foods that you are eating. If you are eating fast food or take out too much, then PLEASE continue to read. Fast food and take out are typically high in calories due to sugar and fat from the processing and to increase flavor. The BEST way to change what you are eating is to spend some time thinking about what you want to eat each day. Most of us are very similarly from day to day, our weekday / daytime meals are usually the same, or we are fine eating the same things. So if you have something else ready to eat, then making a change for those meals is really very easy. So that's where prepping meals comes into play. Sit down and think about what you want to eat for those meals and prepare it over a weekend, then test it all out for a week. You will decide what you like and dislike, .....what is easy and what is not,....and make the appropriate changes so that you can do it better or easier for the next week. I spend time prepping food a few times during the week. I always have a huge container of basmati rice in the fridge that the boys and I dip into for meals, and there is always some ground beef, and chicken and steak cut up in a container ready to heat up, and a container of hard boiled eggs to eat. This prepping makes the weekday meals easier, not easy, just easier. I would encourage everyone, that if you have any inclination to start a process like this, then just give it a go. You'll find that it is not that hard and you'll be successful. And that bit of success leads to motivation and desire to further the progress, and it feeds on itself.

Weekend meals...... a little tougher, but since your weekday meals went sooo well, then relax on the weekend meals. And typically it's just Friday and Saturday dinners that are way out of the normal, so have what you want!, because overall, if your weekday meals are on track, then you're doing very well!!!!! You're eating in a way that promotes health and longevity, and that's what we all want.

Now, if you are struggling to figure out what to eat, then I would refer you to the previous newsletter about the three different eating styles, and the newsletter before that one about the glycemic index of carbs. As a general rule, if you balance some protein and carbs at each meal, and choose carbs that are lower on the glycemic index, then you are going to do very very well, and of course keep the portion control down, and keep the snacking down. It is really amazing how eating less with portion control will let the weight come off of you, and when you combine that with eating carbs that are low on the glycemic index, the weight really drops off you and your sustained daytime energy really becomes apparent to you.

And one last thing, we are all reading this thinking about ourselves, which is great, but let's all think about making these changes for the kids, so that they benefit from this type of healthy eating/lifestyle from a much younger age than maybe we did.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reply to the email and ask. This is a big and complicated and intimidating topic and process. The best way to start on it is to just start, and make changes as you go. You'll be glad that you did. And remember, you don't have to be 100% perfect, just making changes can improve your entire health and energy level, and you work on it as you go.

Thanks for reading, and if you would like to help our office be notice by others in search of good care, please consider clicking here and offering a rating on Google. It is much appreciated.

Dr Mckim

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