Courtesy of Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.

The holiday season is a time of festivities, family and food. The extra food eaten and lower amounts of physical activity in the winter months can lead to a two-pound weight gain each holiday season (Diaz-Zavala, et al., 2017). A two-pound weight gain does not seem like much, but it accounts for 10 pounds every five years adding to adulthood obesity. It’s no wonder that we tend to focus on weight loss as our New Year's resolution.

This year, instead of focusing on a diet, try working towards a healthier eating strategy. A diet mentality leads us to believe that we can turn a healthy lifestyle on or off like a light switch. A lifestyle, however,  is a commitment to your health. The lifestyle approach can lead to lasting weight loss, since healthier foods are generally lower in calories, higher in fiber and help you feel better overall. Because it is a lifestyle, you do not turn it off and return to your old eating habits when the diet is over. Here are five nutrition recommendations to stay healthy in the New Year.

Eat more fruits and vegetables.

A healthy lifestyle includes eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, the more the better. Each colored subgroup—dark green, red and orange, white and purple—has different vitamins, minerals and health benefits. To add more fruits, include fruit as a snack, part of breakfast or as dessert instead of eating foods with added sugars like cookies, doughnuts, ice cream and candies. Keep fruit readily available and make a point to eat it often throughout the day.  

To add more vegetables, include a salad or vegetable side dish at lunch and dinner. Add bell peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms in pasta; broccoli in macaroni and cheese; and spinach or kale and onion on a thin-crust pizza to add flavor, color and texture. Adding more vegetables to your meals adds fiber, vitamins and minerals and replaces foods high in saturated fat and sodium.  

Some produce is available year-round; others are available seasonally. For fresh, local, seasonal fruits and vegetables consider visiting the Milwaukee County Farmers Market which runs on Saturdays until March 30, 2019 in the Greenhouse Annex at the Mitchell Park Domes (524 S Layton Blvd. Milwaukee, WI 53215). Farmers Markets are a great place to find unique produce to keep healthy eating interesting, entertaining and flavorful.  

Decrease added sugars.

The recommendation from the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 is to consume less than ten percent of calories per day from added sugars (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), n.d.). This means if you were to eat about 1800 calories per day, you would be able to eat up to 45 grams of added sugar per day. Choose foods with less than ten grams of added sugar and limit yourself to one sugar-containing food or beverage per meal or snack. Added sugars do not include naturally occurring sugars like the kinds we find in milk and fruit. Added sugars include sugars, syrups or isolated naturally occurring sugars from foods whose purpose is to sweeten the food product (Food and Drug Administration, HHS, 2016).  

Focus on cutting back the amount of sugary drinks like sweetened coffee and teas, soda and fruit juices. Instead, drink more water, sugar-free flavored water and up to eight fluid ounces of 100% fruit juice or smoothie per day. Cut back the amount of sugar by decreasing your portion size of desserts and sweets. Choose no sugar versions of canned fruit, applesauce or yogurt. Look for sweeteners like saccharin, aspartame and sucralose as an option instead of adding sugar. It’s not realistic to cut out sweets completely, so allow yourself one sweet treat per week. You may find that you lose your sweet tooth and don’t crave it as much when you limit your sugar intake.  

Decrease saturated fats.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature such as butter, milk fat, animal fat and tropical fats like coconut and palm oil. Diets high in saturated fat are not good for your heart health and often contain more calories. Aim to consume less than ten percent of calories per day from saturated fats. With an 1800 calorie plan, this would mean limiting saturated fats to a maximum of 20 grams per day. Choose foods with less than five grams of saturated fat per meal or snack to stay within the goal. Dishes like pizza, burgers, sandwiches, meat, poultry, seafood dishes, rice, pasta, grain dishes, and soups account for the largest part of saturated fat in a typical American diet (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), n.d.).  

To decrease your saturated fat intake, switch to lower-fat options, which allow you to continue to enjoy some of your favorite foods. Choose 1% or skim milk, low-fat cheese, lean cuts of meat like skinless chicken, turkey and fish, lean beef and pork in place of their higher saturated fat counterparts like 2% or whole milk, cheese, cream cheese, and fatty meats like lunch meats, sausages, ribs and ground beef.  

Wisconsin is known as the dairy state, so cutting out cheese altogether is probably not a realistic option. Limit your portion of cheese to one ounce per day. One ounce of cheese contains five grams of saturated fat, or a quarter of your daily allowance. Choose flavorful, local cheeses instead of generic grocery brands. The Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market has several delicious options. The more flavor the cheese has, the less you’ll need to eat to get the same enjoyment.

Decrease sodium.

Nearly 90% of the total United States population takes in more than the recommended amount of sodium per day (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), n.d.). In order to reach the goal of consuming less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day of sodium, use the 1:1 rule for calories-to-sodium when buying prepackaged foods. Sodium is found in most foods, but is particularly high in soups, sauces and processed or prepared foods. To decrease the amount of sodium you consume, cook more foods at home and use fresh ingredients. Instead of salt, use dried or fresh herbs and spices to add flavor to your dishes.  

Set smart goals.

Set a goal that works for and with you. Good goals are specific, measureable, attainable, relevant and time sensitive; they’re SMART. A good goal has an action plan built into it. For example, the goal, “I will eat a vegetable serving at lunch and dinner on six or more days of the week for the next month” is a better than, “I will eat more vegetables.” If you have a goal to get healthier, set smaller goals that will help you reach the big picture. Write down your goals and check in at least weekly to track your progress. If things don’t go completely to plan, keep in mind that a small step forward is still better than not trying at all.  

Works Cited

Diaz-Zavala, R., Castro-Cantu, M., Valencia, M., Alvarez-Hernandez, G., Haby, M., & Esparza-Romero, J. (2017, July). Effect of the Holiday Season on Weight Gain: A Narrative Review. Journal of Obesity, 2017, 13.

Food and Drug Administration, HHS. (2016, May 27). Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrient and Supplements Fact Lables. Federal Register, 81(103), pp. 33742- 34000.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). (n.d.). Eating Patterns . Retrieved from Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-2/current-e...