Your fridge is full of vegetables and you have the best of intentions. Welcome to January! April Thorimbert is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator and says we need to refocus our thinking. January, fine, set some small goals. But what about the rest of the year, carrying those through? She advises building your diet plan on a solid foundation. So get your information from a reputable source like certified websites, your doctor or a registered dietitian. Then, set small, sustainable, realistic and time-lined goals. Maybe it’s reducing the amount of processed foods. Maybe it’s reducing the amount of foods we source outside our own homes making it easy to control what we’re having, what our intake is. Maybe it’s as simple as I’m going to start with two extra veggie servings. There is certainly room for an overhaul in most North American diets. Thorimbert says by relying heavily on processed foods and falling short on whole fruits and veggies, intake whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy, most people fail to meet the minimum goals for dietary fibre intake and eat far too much salt and saturated and trans-fats.

When making changes, Thorimbert says to focus on your goals and not your weight, which will improve success. That means setting healthy, evidence based goals for your diet and physical activity. We certainly want to not forget about the really important component of physical activity when we are considering a diet modification. Also, buddy up. Involve someone else whether it’s a family member or friend in that health goal and you’re more likely to accomplish it and continue with it. She says you also have to want the change. When motivated, making small changes can have a huge impact over time.

As found on Youtube