{"id":2713,"date":"2017-03-15T17:52:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T17:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=2713"},"modified":"2024-05-09T03:33:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T03:33:10","slug":"five-best-tips-for-putting-your-best-fork-forward-to-shed-the-winter-pounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/five-best-tips-for-putting-your-best-fork-forward-to-shed-the-winter-pounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Best Tips for Putting Your Best Fork Forward to Shed the Winter Pounds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?\u00a0 Every year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics generates a nutrition, education and information campaign.\u00a0 This year\u2019s message is \u201cPut Your Best Fork Forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Each person has the tools to make healthy dietary choices.\u00a0 Now\u00a0 that winter is coming to an end, and spring is approaching, it is a wonderful time to reflect on our current habits and lifestyle and decide which tools we will use to shed some excess weight gained over the winter months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tool #1 \u2013 Balance<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit Choose My Plate at  &#8211; Use the \u201cmy plate\u201d method of \u00bd plate non starchy veggies, \u00bc plate protein, \u00bc plate fiber rich carbohydrate to balance your nutrients throughout the day.<\/li>\n<li>Drink water or mild instead of sweetened beverages (soda or juice).<\/li>\n<li>Eat healthy snacks, such as fruits\/nuts with yogurt or crackers with peanut butter.<\/li>\n<li>Substitute processed or artificially flavored food items with natural unprocessed foods. By skipping the cookies and having a piece of fruit, you will get more vitamins and fiber allowing your body to feel more energized throughout the day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tool #2 \u2013 Let\u2019s get Physical<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Physical activity, in any form, is imperative for managing weight. Some ways to get more active are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Consider non weight bearing exercises such as using resistance bands for building muscle and increasing flexibility, stationary bike or water aerobics.<\/li>\n<li>Walking 10,000 steps per day is equivalent to walking five miles! Aim to achieve as many steps as possible throughout the day such as parking your car a little further from your destination, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and partaking in walking breaks, especially if you are sitting for most of the day.<\/li>\n<li>March gives us extra daylight, so the best way to utilize this extra time is by being active. Activities such as walking, jogging, gardening, swimming and yoga are perfect ways to spend 30 minutes doing an outside activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tool #3 \u2013 Reduce Stress<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Everyone has stress which can obstruct weight loss. Stress increased the hormone called cortisol, which can contribute to weight gain.\u00a0 Stress also contributes to emotional eating and other damaging behaviors.<\/li>\n<li>It is important to ask for help and have support to get through the daily stressors of life. Consider support groups, meditation, coloring, knitting or spending time with a loved one to relieve the stressors in your daily life and help you stay focused and on track of your goals and progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tool #4 \u2013 Be <em>SMART<\/em> About Your Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By setting <em>SMART <\/em>goals, results are greater!\u00a0 <em>SMART<\/em> goals encompass five parameters to make the goal more productive:<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>S<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is the <strong>SPECIFICS<\/strong> of the goal.\u00a0 Is the goal definable?<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>M<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is the <strong>MEASURABILITY<\/strong> of the goal. Is it possible to track\/measure progress?<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>A<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is <strong>ATTAINABILITY<\/strong> of the goal.\u00a0 Is the goal a reasonable one ?<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>R<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is <strong>RELEVENCY<\/strong> of the goal.\u00a0 Is the goal worthwhile and will it meet your needs?<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>T<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is <strong>TIMELINESS <\/strong>of the goal.\u00a0 How much time can you\u00a0give to accomplishing goals?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tool #5 \u2013 Track Your Progress<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep a diary or journal and record your progress and shortcomings.<\/li>\n<li>Keep a food log and track your dietary intake.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThere\u2019s an <em>App <\/em>for that\u201d &#8211; There are so many wonderful <em>Apps<\/em> for goal setting and tracking caloric intake, physical activity, etc., utilize the technology on your smart phone or tablet to monitor your progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This article was submitted by Sadia Tahir Khan MS, RD and Michelle Hill, RD, CDN, CDE, Food and Nutrition Department of Flushing Hospital Medical Center<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?\u00a0 Every year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics generates a nutrition, education and information campaign.\u00a0 This year\u2019s message is \u201cPut Your Best Fork Forward.\u201d Each person has the tools to make &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/five-best-tips-for-putting-your-best-fork-forward-to-shed-the-winter-pounds\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1,14,555,501,4],"tags":[403,1001,691,1000,998,999],"class_list":["post-2713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-health","category-mens-health","category-nutrition-2","category-obesity-2","category-womens-health","tag-reducestress","tag-balance","tag-findingbalance","tag-letsgetphysical","tag-shedwinterpoungs","tag-tipsfortakingoffweight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2713"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8807,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions\/8807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}