March is National Nutrition Month

 

 

Changing your nutritional habits can be hard, but very important to live a strong and healthy life!

To reach your nutritional goals, try:

• Starting with small changes
  • Instead of making HUGE goals, try to create healthy habits for 3-4 days straight, and then increase the amount to 1 week, and so forth!
  • For example: Try eating 3 servings of vegetables for 3-4 days straight. Once you have done that, try eating 3 servings of vegetables for one week! Or try eating 3 servings of different colored vegetables for 3-4 days straight
• Be active in your own way
  • Focus on physical activity that you enjoy!
  • Not ready for too strenuous of an activity? Talk a walk with a friend, walk your dog, dance during commercial breaks, or anything else that seems fun!
• Team up! Find a friend with similar goals and do them TOGETHER
• Celebrate success
  • Think of each change as a “win”
• Reward yourself (in healthy ways) when you have reached your goals

 

Eat Right With MyPlate

Follow these recommended MyPlate guidelines. For more information on MyPlate, click here!

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
  • Aim to eat MORE vegetables than fruits
  • Try to have a variety of color
• Make half your grains whole grains
  • Look for whole grains listed first or second on the ingredient list
  • Try oatmeal, popcorn, whole-grain bread/pasta, and brown rice
• Vary your protein
  • Include seafood, unsalted nuts/seeds, beans and peas so you aren’t always eating meat-based protein
• Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products
  • Opt for unflavored greek yogurt and add your own mix-ins such as fruit, peanut butter, or whole-grain cereal
• Drink and eat less sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars
  • Choose vegetable or plant-based oils over butter and other animal-based fats
  • Drink water instead of sugary drinks
  • Choose fruit for dessert