
By Mountain Family Health Centers
Winter can be a challenging time if you’re trying to improve eating habits or hoping to continue healthier meals. Adding New Year’s resolutions to lose weight or make up for holiday overeating can add more stress, creating a vicious cycle. Mountain Family Health Centers primary care physician Dr. Maria Chansky has the following recommendations for patients as we begin 2019:
- Be mindful of portion sizes, as everyone tends to overachieve over the holidays. It is important for patients to choose healthy portions as well as healthy foods.
- There are huge numbers of empty calories in alcohol. Make healthy choices about quantity with regard to beverages as well as food.
Are your New Year’s resolutions starting to feel daunting? Here are some resolutions to stack the odds in favor of maintaining or improving your health:
– Eat more protein, to help curb sugar cravings
– Eat more fruits and vegetables, at least five servings a day
– Eat more often, with smaller portions
– Drink alcohol less often, or in smaller quantities. As Health.com explains, “drinking alcohol in excess affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and can increase the risk of depression, memory loss, or even seizures… Chronic heavy drinking boosts your risk of liver and heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and mental deterioration, and even cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, and breast.”
– Learn a new healthy recipe each month, so your list of preferred meals continues to grow.
Mountain Family Health Centers wishes you and yours a Happy New Year.