Many Americans begin the month of January on a diet. After a week of eating greens, practicing cleanses and blending protein shakes, the second week of January is when we fall off the wagon and succumb to chocolate cake cravings. The third week in January? Stop dieting for good and commit to a balanced diet that you can maintain throughout the year.
Healthy Weight Week (Jan. 16-22) was created by health professionals to help us “celebrate healthy living habits that last a lifetime and prevent eating and weight problems, rather than intensifying them, as diets do.”
Instead of extreme dieting, Healthy Weight Week promotes healthy lifestyles for both children and adults of every size. Healthy Weight Week is meant to help people develop reasonable, rational diet and exercise patterns that they can feel good about.
How can you celebrate Healthy Weight Week? Francie Berg, chairwoman of 2024 Healthy Weight Week told the Monterey Herald, “Normal eating means having a healthy relationship with food that is natural, trusting and flexible.”
- Eat meals at regular times. Try to eat three meals and one or two healthy snacks, like an energy smoothie or fruit with peach dip.
- Eat to satisfy hunger — that sensation when our body says “I need to eat now.”
- Stop eating when we no longer feel hungry.
- Eat when our inner signals tell us we are hungry.
- Concentrate on healthful habits, not numbers on the scale. Plan a leisurely walk during your lunch break instead of inhaling your sandwich at your desk.
How will you celebrate Healthy Weight Week?