Stephanie Averkamp, San Diego-based ACE Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, shares five small steps you can take to kick-start healthier eating habits in 2010, starting with breakfast:
1. Eat breakfast: Not a big morning eater? If you think you don’t have time or are not hungry in the morning, start by getting used to eating something when you wake, even if it’s just a banana.
2. Choose food closest to it’s original form: It’s simple – pick an apple over apple sauce or apple juice. Love chips and fries? Opt for a baked potato instead.
3. Divide your dinner plate into 3 sections: Fill half of your plate with vegetables, and each remaining quarter with whole grains and a lean protein source respectively. Perfect example? A dinner plate that is half salad, a quarter brown rice and a quarter grilled chicken.
4. Create a healthy kitchen: Keep healthy food visible. Place healthy food like fruit on counter tops, whole grains at eye level in your pantry, cottage cheese and lean dairy on the top shelf in your refrigerator, and snacks like almonds in clear, portion-sized containers.
5. Sweat the small stuff: Make small, realistic changes that over time will become a permanent part of your lifestyle.
