5 Baby Steps to Health in 2012

The New Year is coming, and many of us are stuffing our faces with baked goodies in anticipation of the inevitable New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get fit. But before you go all boot-camp on your waistline, consider making a few small changes in your diet and lifestyle that will give you big results over the long-term.

The all-or-nothing approach to dieting is pretty much a recipe for failure, while small changes in your daily habits can lead to great success over the long term. If you are wondering what small changes you should make, here are a few suggestions; pick just one and baby-step your way through 2012.

1) Be adventurous, try new fruits and vegetables. By introducing more fruits and veggies into your diet, you can slowly begin to eliminate simple carbs and fatty foods that encourage weight gain. Ask friends to share their favorite recipes and tips. And who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised at the deliciousness of acorn squash, yucca, bok choy or rutabaga. My most favorite new vegetable recipe for 2011 = kale chips!

2) Cut out night-time eating. Resolve to eat less after the sun goes down, so your body can fully digest everything you consumed during the day. Most people slow down in the evenings, so they do not burn as many calories as they would during a more active time of day. Guess what happens to the stuff that does not get metabolized before you go to bed - your body stores it as fat! Noooooooooo!!!!!

3) Walk more. Sure, you’ve heard this one before, but have you taken it to heart? By getting outside and walking you can experience your community in a totally different way. Walk around your neighborhood and check out your neighbors’ gardens. Walk around Downtown Athens and look at all the cool shops and new developments. Walk around the UGA or YMCA soft-surface tracks, or walk to work if you can. Why not park some distance from your office and walk the rest of the way? You will be surprised at what you miss when confined in a car, speeding past the sights and sounds of your city. By walking more, you may come to know your neighbors and your community better and get some exercise, too!

4) Eat your vitamins. Rather than swallowing pills and powders to meet nutritional requirements, why not try incorporating nutrient-rich foods into your everyday (or, at least some days) diet? Leafy greens are an excellent source of calcium, while mushrooms can provide much-needed Vitamin D. Fish and eggs are rich in B-12, and sunflower seeds are full of Vitamin E.

5) Lay off the dairy! Are you aware that most people on Earth are lactose intolerant? Human beings do not ordinarily contain sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase in their intestines to be able to digest dairy milk. Therefore, lactose tolerance is actually abnormal. Do you experience gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, cramping or other digestive discomfort? This could be due to the fact that your body is having a hard time digesting the ice cream, milk or cheese you love so much. By reducing the amount of dairy products you eat (nobody says you have to quit cold-turkey!) you can cut calories and saturated fat from your diet and say goodbye to the upset tummy as well.

Read more of Camille's ideas and ruminations at MyAthensLife.wordpress.com!