Five Healthy Eating Habits for National Nutrition Month

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Mar 12, 2019
National Nutrition Month is an education and information campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The theme for this year focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. While you can’t expect to overhaul your eating habits overnight, you can make progress toward a healthier life one plate at a time. Here are five tips to get you started with healthy eating this March:

Here are five tips to get you started with healthy eating this March

Discover Your Own Eating Style

A healthy lifestyle starts with a healthy eating style. Shop for produce and foods that you enjoy eating and that are healthy. Then, find ways to eat those foods more. While it may be hard to ignore your cravings for less-healthy foods at first, if you can satiate your hunger with healthy choices, your body will start to crave those healthier options.

Cook at Home & Eat out Less

Eating out is, generally speaking, less healthy than dining in. While there are plenty of wholesome restaurants to choose from, cooking at home and controlling every ingredient that enters your body is a much safer way to make sure you are getting everything you need (and nothing that you don’t). Practice cooking at home and experiment with different, healthy ingredients. Who knows what foods you might end up falling in love with?

Count Your Calories

It’s tedious, but how much we eat is just as important as what we eat. When you eat and drink the right amount, you’ll feel full and healthy. There are many great mobile apps and programs that can help you do this, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure the amount of calories coming in roughly equals or barely exceeds the amount you’re sending out.

Find Activities That Keep You Moving

Many things in the world today invite us to sit down. Binge-watching Netflix and browsing social media on our phones, for example, are things that require little-to-no movement (and we’re all guilty of doing). If you can find an activity that’s both fun and physically engaging, you can improve your overall wellness and double the effectiveness of your healthy eating habits.

Ask for Help

You don’t have to do this alone. First, involving family and friends in your quest to stay healthy is a great way to keep yourself motivated. On top of this, you can consult with your doctor or a dietitian/nutritionist for more advice that will be tailored to your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs. If you have a plan through Nevada Health Link, many preventative health appointments are covered under your 10 Essential Health Benefits, so don’t hesitate to seek additional help.

While there’s no guarantee that a health issue won’t surprise you at some point in your life, if you’re living as healthy as possible, you can feel confident that you’re avoiding the worst of it. And for what you can’t plan for, you can have peace of mind knowing that Nevada Health Link has your back.

If you’re not currently enrolled in health insurance, let us help you. Certain qualifying life events (QLE) may make you eligible for a special enrollment period. QLE’s are life-changing events such as job loss, income change, marriage/divorce and birth/adoption of a child to name a few. Connect contact a certified broker to see if you qualify for special enrollment.