We all have personal nutrition and diet goals. Yet, even with individual needs, there are strategies and choices that all of us can focus on. It starts with keeping broader wellness in mind and accepting an approach for sustained success.
Focus on Overall Wellness Goals
Find your own path to meeting and sustaining diet and nutrition goals. At the same time, keep overall wellness objectives in mind. Overlook this and you may think you’re meeting health goals (like losing weight) while increasing risk at the same time (by worsening cholesterol levels, for example). We all should consume less added sugar, reduce intake of saturated fat, and limit sodium to reduce risk of chronic disease. Lean on Guiding Stars to help you keep these three key nutrition goals in mind, regardless of your dietary approach.
Feel Full
Let your stomach decide when you’re full, not your eyes. Check in before eating to assess how hungry you are and use that to guide consumption. When we eat slowly and attentively, our bodies tell us when to stop. If you feel compelled to clean your plate or typically eat while distracted, you may be overriding this internal cue. Regardless of your health and wellness goals, it’s essential to distinguish feeling “just satisfied” or contently full versus “over full.”
Feel Satisfied
That said, being “satisfied” by what we eat can be broadly defined. As I just noted, eating until we’re “just satisfied” helps us to consume the right amount. It’s also important for our choices to be satisfying (enjoyable) and match what we want to eat. Sure, you may not be getting the large burger and fries you really want. But you will likely feel very unsatisfied if you meal prep a soup to eat four nights in a row. Meeting your health and wellness goals should be delicious and fulfilling. Any other approach and you’ll likely abandon your goals.
Feel Nourished
Ultimately, regardless of your personal diet and nutrition goals, you should always feel nourished. We may all define it differently, but this is an essential consideration. Do your food choices really meet your daily needs? Is your diet colorful, delicious, satisfying, and filled with foods you look forward to eating? We won’t sustain a new approach to eating or meet our goals if our meals aren’t nourishing.
Connect With Others
The Mediterranean diet is one approach that is well-loved and highly beneficial. Many of us adopt this lifestyle, yet there’s one key piece that we tend to overlook. And that’s the part where we turn meals into experiences. It’s connecting with others over delicious food, slowing down, and savoring meals. This important part of health and wellness is in the spotlight as we celebrate National Nutrition Month. When we do this, we remind ourselves that our eating shouldn’t simply find its way into a busy day. Instead, a busy day should include time to pause, eat presently, and enjoy the moment.