Healthy Habits: Healthy Eating in the New Year

In just a few days it will be 2018. Every year millions of Americans make a resolution to start the new year off by eating better. Yet they fail to carry through with their resolution. Why is that? How can they be successful?

I had a chance to interview Dr. Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program. Dr. Kantor says eating better isn’t that difficult. He says one of the easiest ways is limiting salt intake and has a list of easy tips on how to eat healthy for the new year. 

Why is it so hard to keep a resolution to eat better?

We often try to make too many changes at once and it sets us up for failure. Eating better has so many components like hydration, meal preparation, grocery shopping, and eating out. Prioritize what will give you the biggest result and work on that first. A great behavior modification is to consume half of your body weight in ounces of water per day; this eliminates sugary beverages, which will result in a healthier body. 

Why is it easy to focus on limiting salt? 

Salt is typically found on processed foods like boxed or bagged snack items and fast food. If you simply eat whole unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables then you will reduce salt intake. 

What are some other tips to successfully improving diet in the New Year?

Take baby steps and be realistic. If you overhaul your lifestyle all at once you will not be able to maintain the drastic changes. Focus on one behavior change at a time. Nutrition contributes to 80% of your results, so that area is a great place to start.