2023 Author: Anita Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 03:30
According to a recent study, 40% of Canadians leave their good lifestyle habits behind while on vacation. With the end of summer and back to school, get back to your good lifestyle habits and why not include new ones?
The key is to start with a few small changes at a time.
Assess your hunger
It is important to assess your hunger to maintain a he althy relationship with food and to avoid obesity, which is the cause of several diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain forms of of cancer. Keep in mind that 100 calories a day left unused will add 10 pounds by the end of the year.
To assess hunger, you must first know that appetite is the desire to eat. It is influenced by psychological and physiological factors, by the environment, by access to food and by the food itself. Being indoors more in the fall and winter is quite a challenge. Think about that bag of cookies or chips that's a few steps away in the pantry. Sometimes it's hard to resist!
Before taking your first bite, assess your hunger using thebodily signals of hunger and satiety. Hunger and satiety depend on hormones that tell the brain that the body is lacking or has received enough calories. You have these regulating internal signals, listen to them!
If you have a physiological hunger (a REAL hunger) you may feel empty or have small cramps in your stomach. You might hear rumbling (gargoyles). You may have low energy, weakness, difficulty concentrating or be irritable. Conversely, when you are full, you will feel a boost of energy, the void will be filled and the food will become less tasty. Also, you will have less real interest in eating. For example, if you're willing to miss a good chunk of your favorite show to eat in the dining room, that's a good indicator of real hunger. If not, skip that first bite and wait a bit. Maybe this desire to eat will pass and you can wait for the next meal or snack?
Assess your vitamin and mineral intake
According to a study, more than 10 million Canadians are not getting enough of their magnesium, calcium, vitamin A and D needs. This may be due to food preferences, lifestyle, food allergies or intolerances, etc. No matter! Take time to assess your food intake to see if you are meeting your nutritional needs.
You may need to haveusing multivitamins to meet specific nutritional needs. To help you choose them, your dietitian can assess your needs and your intake. You can also ask your doctor for a blood test to assess whether you are suffering from a vitamin or mineral deficiency. In pharmacies, do not hesitate to ask your pharmacist to guide you in your choice of multivitamins.
Each day brings an opportunity to adopt new, simple habits that will go a long way in helping you acquire or maintain he althy lifestyle habits.
