HealthyLife Articles

Tag: HealthyLife® Weigh

  • Fruits & Vegetables 2

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Menus & Recipes

    A variety of vegerables.

    Choose a wide variety of whole fruits and vegetables for a huge assortment of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber. Select fresh, frozen, dried, or canned. Choose canned fruit packed in juice to avoid added sugar. Choose canned vegetables with reduced or low sodium levels. Try to include a fruit or vegetable with most snacks and all meals.

    ½ cup of fruit counts as:

    *  ½ cup raw, chopped, cooked, or canned fruit

    *  1 small banana, peach, or orange

    *  1 large plum or 16 seedless grapes

    *  ½ cup 100% fruit juice

    *  ¼ cup dried fruit

    1 cup of vegetables counts as:

    *  2 cups raw leafy vegetables

    * 1 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw

    * 1 cup 100% vegetable juice (choose less often)

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Injury And Disability

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 5

    Doctor helping elderly man with fitness.

    Talk to your doctor or physical therapist about exercises you can do at home, at a gym, or in a pool. While there may be activities you can’t do, there are probably many that you can do. Plus, there are many exercises that can be adapted to suit your individual needs and abilities.

    *  Focus on what you CAN do.

    *  Choose low-impact exercises that don’t make an injury worse.

    *  Find a supportive buddy to help motivate you or assist you with exercises.

    *  Use flotation devices in a pool for support.

    *  Try new things as you lose weight. You may find some activities easier when you are carrying less weight on your joints.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Map Your Meal Plan 2

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Menus & Recipes

    Chalk drawing of shopping cart with fresh fruit above.

    Print this page or download the “Print on Demand” to map your meal plan.

    Chart to map your meal plan.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Review And Prepare 3

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 3

    Hands cutting vetegables and preparing food.

    This section covered a lot of tips for planning healthy eating. It also covered how to make healthy choices in different environments. Answer the following:

    *  Name a new idea from this section that you have recently tried or are planning to try soon.

    *  What do you like about this idea? What would you change?

    *  What do you feel makes it hard for you to stick with new habits?

    The next section will talk about setting yourself up to succeed. Knowing what to eat is important, but training your mind to make healthy choices automatically can help make changes stick.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Power Of Perception

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 2

    Cauliflower pizza with spinach, zucchini and asparagus.

    Which words/phrases do you associate with vegetables?

    *  Green

    *  Filling

    *  Necessary evil

    *  Fiber

    *  Broccoli

    *  Minerals

    *  Boring

    *  Variety

    *  Hydrating

    *  Vitamins

    *  Colorful

    *  Fresh

    *  Salad

    *  Do I have to?

    *  Exciting

    *  Nourishing

    *  Canned

    *  Soggy

    *  Crisp

    *  French fries

    Having a positive attitude toward a food may help you be more willing to try it and include it in your diet.

    *  Look back at the words listed above. How do you think your current attitude toward vegetables influences your food choices?

    *  After learning about vegetables, how do you feel your attitude toward vegetables has changed?

    *  What is one new way you want to eat a vegetable this week?

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Set Goals

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 3

    The word Smart spelled out with wood lettering and hand writing definition for setting a smart goal.

    Think of the actions you take on a daily basis as small steps toward your bigger goal. This guide has already given you many ideas for small steps, such as making half of your plate fruits and vegetables and choosing fewer sugar-sweetened drinks. Identify your next step and use the S.M.A.R.T. tool to improve the chances of reaching your goal.

    Stay motivated with the small successes you achieve along the way. Use yourEating & Exercise Tracker™every day for feedback on the effect your actions have on your energy level, mood, and weight.

    S.M.A.R.T. chart.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Use Food Labels

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 3

    Smiling woman shopping in supermarket and reading food label.

    Information on food labels can help you choose healthy foods and drinks and avoid less healthy options. Some of the healthiest foods, like fruits and vegetables, don’t have a label at all! Practice reading food labels with the foods you have at home or the next time you grocery shop.

    Chart breaking down how to read a food label.

    What seems “normal” as a portion is influenced by what you have eaten in the past, what you see others eat, what you have been served at a restaurant, and what is on a food label. Part of adopting a balanced diet may be creating a new “normal” for yourself that is pleasing, filling, AND the right amount for your body.

    Chart breaking down how to read a food label.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • A Changing Food Label

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 3

    Man reading food label.

    In 2016, the FDA approved a new food label. The new food label is already on many foods. By mid-2021, all food labels will look like the new label. The new label will help you make more informed choices about what you eat. The changes are shown in the graphic below.

    Graphic of old and new food labels.
    Graphic of old and new food labels.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Be Persistent

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 7

    Man at gym holding a water bottle and apple.

    You may be reading this page well before you reach your goal. That’s okay. Understand that weight loss takes time. Continue to build on what you do each day. Remember, it isn’t a single healthy meal or workout that will get you to your goal. It’s also not a single poor choice or skipped workout that will derail you.

    *  Build trends of healthy choices.

    *  Know and live your values.

    *  Treat your thoughts and actions with compassion.

    *  Don’t settle with just what you know now. Keep learning.

    *  Create a web of support.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Dispute Unhelpful Thoughts

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 4

    Man thinking in front of black chalk board with arrows pointing.

    Thinking in all-or-nothing terms using words like “always,” “never,” and “every” can make it difficult to see options. Avoid thinking about people or situations using absolute terms. Logical thinking looks at more than one option. People can act in different ways. Situations can have many outcomes.

    Have you had any of the unhelpful thoughts below:

    *  Gaining weight and moving less is just part of getting older.

    *  Taking care of myself is selfish.

    *  I weigh less than those around me. At least I am doing better than they are.

    *  My spouse does the grocery shopping and cooking so I have very little control over what I eat.

    *  Eating healthy is too expensive.

    Question your unhelpful thoughts. The strategies on the following pages help to break down thoughts that you may be using as excuses not to change. If you notice you are thinking in absolutes, identify alternatives to your black and white thoughts.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine