With the holidays well behind us and spring on the horizon, we’re going back to basics. Consider this a quick review of some nutrition fundamentals!

Over time, we sometimes allow habits to set in even if they don’t support our goals. Let’s take a look at the reviews below and make any adjustments that will help you improve your health and fitness!

1. Review Your Beverages!

Have any drinks with added sugar crept into your routine? Are you reaching for alcohol out of habit at the end of the day? Are you drinking water regularly? 

Over winter, we sometimes grab warm drinks for comfort and they’re often loaded with empty calories and sugar. And the alcoholic beverages from holiday celebrations sometimes become everyday habits even as December and January disappear into the rearview mirror. 

Over the next few days, make note of everything you drink and look for things that don’t match up with your goals. Then sub them out—or reduce consumption to levels that support your goals.

Example: If you’ve started having a soda at the end of each day, try replacing it with a recovery drink with carbonation like FitAid or Nocco (go for the decaffeinated versions if you’re going to sleep in the next 8 hours). 

2. Review Your Veggie Intake

Vegetables are incredibly important to sound nutrition and fresh produce is amazing. Colder months can make it tough to find food that’s right out of the garden if you have a green thumb and produce just doesn’t taste as good with H-E-B having to look farther away for their produce needs. 

But veggies are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals! And they fill you up and don’t create blood-sugar spikes. They’re the foundation of healthy eating and they’re essential for anyone who wants to become fitter or healthier.

So take a close look at your meals over a few days. Are you eating veggies regularly? Could you add more? Could you make some changes to swap out processed carbs for veggies? Could you try different veggies or new recipes to spice things up?

How many vegetables should you eat? Well, the “plate rule” provides a great starting point! Try to fill half your plate with vegetables at each meal and you’ll be getting all those wonderful health benefits!

3. Review Your Snacks

Are you still raiding the freezer for frozen holiday treats? Or are your snacks an appropriate mix of protein, carbs, and fat in quantities that match your goals?

It’s very easy to sabotage yourself with snacks. Many of the fast, convenient, tasty options are packed with sugar and fat and it often takes a little more work to come up with a healthy snack. But it’s worth it!

Take a look at your between-meal habits. 

Are you reaching for chips or sweets or processed carbs? Are you turning snacks into meals by accident? Do your snacks ever contain lean protein? 

If you monitor your intake around meals, you’ll definitely see some patterns and you might identify some changes you can make. Maybe those cookies at coffee break become blueberries, smoked turkey breast, and a few nuts. Maybe ice cream in the afternoon becomes half an apple and a little cheese.

Start with 1!

If you did these audits and felt you needed to make changes in all 3 areas DON’T OVERWHELM YOURSELF! Fixing everything at once means nothing gets fixed. Pick one, the one you think you can tackle this month! Then make a plan to prioritize that habit and focus on it!

Beverages getting ya down? Switch out that soda or beer with a recovery drink like Nocco, O2, or FitAid!

Vegetables not in your life as much as they should? Add 1 vegetable to each plate. Even if you go to Velvet Taco for dinner, you can add veggies!

Snacks holding ya back? Grab some smoked turkey from the deli counter as you walk through the grocery store this week and put it some where you can see everything you open the fridge!

And remember…

We Can Help!

If you need accountability and someone to help you set habits to focus on for the month. Sitting down with Katelyn or I for some nutrition coaching can do wonders for reducing anxiety about food and reducing decision fatigue in your life. (If you wanna set up a nutrition sit down or are curious, just reply to this email and we can meet with ya to talk if nutrition coaching is something you need or if ya just need an idea or two!)

Nutrition isn’t about following recipes, picking the best diet, or even eating the most veggies. It’s about making choices that are sustainable for the long term and building routines over time. That way when we are watching our grandchildren grow up, we can be that grandparent they remember doing ALL of their favorite activities with (:

To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro