Okay, so it’s a new year and you want to turn over a new leaf. Maybe you’re thinking a diet is in order. Just be careful because there are definitely right and wrong ways to diet. For instance, although you may want to curb bad behaviors and taper back the serving sizes a bit, you never want to starve yourself. This is unhealthy and a huge waste of time. When your body doesn’t receive nourishment, it goes into starvation mode, where it stores fat and won’t burn many calories.
A good way to diet (as long as you have no health conditions and your doctor agrees it is okay) is to decrease your carbs, replacing them with fruits, vegetables and proteins. Good foods will burn off faster and give you more energy to boot!
Let’s delve into this a bit…If you typically eat a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, you might try replacing that with a slice of whole wheat avocado toast. If you are a cereal eater, try a healthy cereal with a low fat or no fat milk product. Oatmeal, yogurt and fruit are great breakfast options too. Speaking of fruit, it’s a much better snack than chips or sweets, and there are so many delicious fruits from which to choose – from berries, to bananas, melons, mangos and more!
Cut out the bread at lunchtime if you can. A salad is a great replacement for a sandwich. Just watch the dressing because some have more calories and fat than you might expect. Diets don’t have to be boring. There are so many yummy vegetables you can serve with a protein at dinner. Try shrimp kabobs with peppers, pineapple cubes and cherry tomatoes on your skewer!
Plus, when you eat is almost as important as what you eat. You don’t want to eat late at night when all you plan to do is watch television on the couch or go to bed. It’s best to eat when you can still burn off those calories you are consuming…and taper off the amount of food you ingest as the day progresses.
Additionally, lots of little snacks or meals are better than less, larger meals. Eating more, smaller meals will help shrink your stomach, causing you to be hungry less often.
For all you need to create a tasty and nutritious diet, come to any convenient Perrine’s Produce location! You’ll find a full line of fresh fruits and vegetables at our New Smyrna Beach location on the Dixie Freeway, on Nova Road in Ormond Beach, our newest location on Clyde Morris Boulevard in Port Orange…and coming soon to Edgewater!
