Healthy Eating Strategies

The following Huffington Post article is one of the best on healthy eating strategies that I have encountered. Below I list the five strategies along with some commentary. However, I highly recommend that you go and read the original article which is very good.

1. Serve your meals on smaller dishes: You serve yourself less, and you think you ate more. Win-win.

2. Keep your proportions right: The article recommends dividing your plate into quarters (Figure 1). Two of the those quarters (half the plate) are filled with vegetables and fruit; one quarter is the meat, and one quarter is for grains, nuts, and seeds.

3. Opt for color: The article recommends at least three colors on the plate. Using colors favors fruits and vegetables which tend to be more colorful than meats and grains (e.g. white rice). In addition, the bright colors make a positive impression putting the eater in a better mood.

4. Quash unhealthy snacking: When I am hungry in the afternoons I will often snack on M&Ms. Recently I have worked hard to stop this habit. Unhealthy snacking adds empty (non-nutritious) calories.

5. Eat like you mean it: The goal of this advice is to promote the feeling of satiety (i.e. "feeling full"). There are two aspects: 1) Eat slower by taking smaller bites, chewing for longer, and putting your fork down between mouthfuls. This will draw out the meal allowing you more time to feel full. 2) Eat mindfully, pay attention to your food instead of watching the TV or computer. Enjoy all the sensory aspects of eating including visual stimuli (see strategy 3), aroma, flavor, and textures. You will feel more sated when you eat mindfully because you are more aware of your body's signals.

These 5 simple rules will help you eat healthier and eat less.

Figure 1. A "Healthy Eating Plate" as recommended by the Harvard School of Public Health. Note how the plate is divided into quarters with two quarters for fruits and vegetables, one quarter for whole grains, and one quarter for healthy protein.