Three quick ways to start eating better

If you’re looking to lose weight this year or create a more healthy lifestyle, planning out what’s on your plate is even more important than your time on the treadmill. Here are three ways to get started:

Eat Locally

No, that doesn’t meaning dinner at your favorite diner. “Traditionally, people ate what grew around them in season,” explains Jim Wilk, certified nutrition counselor from North Wales and host of the Holly Hill Health Hour radio show on WNPV 1440 AM. For us modern folk, that means avoiding processed and packaged foods that have been sitting in warehouses and shipped hundreds of miles. In our area, wintertime brings hardier foods. “This time of year, it’s root types of vegetables, lean animal foods, and broths and soups.”

Know What You Want

Are you really hungry, or just bored? Or mad, stressed or even just thirsty? “So many of us are walking around dehydrated, and we can feel hungry when our body is really craving water,” explained Joy Small. A holistic nutritionist at Vishala Holistic Health Spa in Richboro, she helps clients learn to examine their bad eating habits and make new, better ones. “Each small change can make a huge difference.”

Slow Down!

Grandma’s homemade sauce isn’t the only reason you can wolf down three bowls of pasta before you realize it. “It’s soft and palatable so it’s easy to chew quickly and swallow. It hasn’t even registered yet in their stomach but people are putting more in it,” explained Dr. Bruce Lewandowski, whose chiropractic office in Trevose also specializes in weight loss and nutrition. Fast eating leads to overeating, but there are plenty of good foods that take longer to eat. “When you eat a chicken breast, steak or salad, you have to take your time.”

Read our full article on how to eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle here.