The Healthiest Habits to Reach Your Best Self

Dr. Jennie Luna Feature

Understanding How to Eat Healthy

Before diving into what food our body needs to thrive, we need to understand our food behavior. Let's face it, ladies, we don’t always eat because we are hungry. We eat because we are stressed, bored, tired, and the list goes on. Lucky there is a biological reason why we eat the way we do. Food can trigger our brain reward circuit; it’s what makes the rich chocolate cake wink at us when we have a crummy day. Having an awareness of our food behavior is the first step to changing it. Once we take a moment to pause and reflect why we are eating the way we do, we can start thinking about changing it for better. Luckily, the more we learn a new behavior it begins to replace the old habits.

Eat Real Food

Yes, mother nature gives us everything we need to have a healthy body. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains has been proven consistently in medical research to promote health. On top of all the nutrients they provide, they also naturally contain fiber. Fiber supports our gut flora, regulates bowel movements and burns energy while digesting. A bagel could never do that for us.

Here are My top 6 Tips to Eating Healthy:

1.       Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it avoids overeating.

2.       Add some protein to your breakfast to enhance satiety.

3.       Avoid deciding what to eat when you are starving. Plan your meals to optimize your success.

4.       To increase your water consumption throughout the day, have a glass before each meal. This will also help with satiety.

5.       You could never go wrong with eating food in its natural state.

6.       Eat slowly and savor every bite, put your fork down halfway through the meal to check if you are satisfied. It takes 20 minutes for satiety to kick in. Remember, there is no need to overeat. If you are satisfied, save the rest for later.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

What does the research show us on how to maintain a healthy weight? The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) has identified some common behavior in individuals who have successfully lost weight and kept it off.

•     They eat breakfast

•     Exercise at least 1 hour per day

•     Frequently weigh themselves

•     Low sedentary time with <10 hrs/week of TV time

Battling fatigue

Some common causes for fatigue are stress, lack of physical activity, food quality and lack of sleep.

Here are My 4 Tips to Address Fatigue:

1.       Keep a food journal

2.       Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep

3.       Go for a walk in nature

4.       Stress management (meditate, journaling, support)

Lastly, but the most important, don’t forget to be kind to yourself. It’s beautiful to be female. Keep shining, stay consistent, and enjoy the journey.

Kindly,

Dr. Jennie Luna

Founder of Nido®