Begin a Healthy Restart to Your Diet

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) recommends six pillars, practices which together can lead to a healthier life. These six practices can help you feel better and stronger. They can lessen the effects of and in some cases prevent chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
You have always heard that you should eat right and exercise more. Those are two of the six practices. Others include restorative sleep, stress management, social connection and avoiding risky substances, such as smoking.
With good health, many of us fall into the trap of trying to do everything at once. We want to be the hare in the old fable by Aesop: sprinting through the race without sweating. We don’t want to be the tortoise, slowing making its way.
In real life, every foot forward may make us sweat, but each foot added to our journey will also build up our strength for the next one. Good nutrition might be the place you begin. Here are some possible first steps:
Reflect and plan. What good nutrition choices have you been able to keep up? What healthy foods will you never eat? Make plans to change your diet, but ensure those plans are reasonable for you and can fit into your current lifestyle.
Commit to more of a whole-food, plant-based diet. You don’t have to cut meat out, but a significant portion of your plate should be full of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Join an Eskenazi Health Healthy Me lifestyle medicine group if you want guidance and peer support on selecting and preparing healthy groceries (eskenazihealth.edu/programs/healthy-me). Consult with your doctor as well.
Mix up your veggies. It’s easy to get sick of the same vegetables, prepared in the same way. Consider trying a new vegetable each week to discover new favorites. Change up spices or add a dash of cheese or salad dressing to vegetables you wouldn’t otherwise try.
Replace sugary drinks with water. Many of us are not getting the eight glasses of water (on average) we need daily, and too many of us are drinking unhealthy beverages instead. While a piece of fruit is a healthier choice than fruit juice, if you do drink juice, choose 100% juice, not “juice cocktail.”
Don’t let your dreams of a perfect diet keep you from the small increments of everyday change that can in time make a big difference. Remember that in the fable, the tortoise is the victor. As Aesop puts it, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
The pace you choose is up to you, but to win good health, there is one thing you can’t afford to do: remain at the starting line. Begin now.
Broderick Rhyant, M.D., chief physician executive with Eskenazi Health Center Grande