Southern Indiana Living Magazine - Jan / Feb 2023

Real Life Nutrition
2023 - The Year of Addition, not Restriction
Each New Year brings the feeling
of a fresh start. Many people start
off the year with goals to personally
improve upon. More often
than not, our instinct is to create goals to
restrict — no more sugar, no more carbs,
no more soda or no more fast food. The
difficulty with creating overly restrictive
goals is that they are rarely followed for
more than a month, let alone the whole
year. My invitation to you this New Year
is to consider what nutrition goals you can
create to add something instead of take
something away. I would also encourage
you to just select one or two goals to focus
on — adding too many goals at once typically
leads to decreased adherence. There
is no need to overload ourselves with
goals! Focusing on one or two new goals
to become consistent with is much more
valuable than six or seven that do not last.
Here are some ideas for goals of addition,
not restriction, that you could consider focusing
on for this year:
Add Protein
Protein foods are important to maintain
lean muscle mass and increase satisfaction
during meals. Adding protein to
meals will likely help you to feel fuller
for a longer period of time after the meal
compared to a meal without protein. Protein
foods include seafood; meat, poultry
and eggs; beans, peas and lentils; and
nuts, seeds and soy products. Consider
adding protein foods to meals and snacks!
If you’re making pasta for dinner, serve
it with chicken. Add beans and nuts to a
salad! Try buying seafood — even canned
tuna or salmon packs lots of protein and
essential fatty acids to your meal.
Add Fruit
Fruit has plenty of nutrients that
may decrease risk for chronic diseases and
help to add fiber, color and flavor to meals.
Fruit may be served in a variety of forms
(fresh, canned, frozen or dried); try any of
these depending on your preferences and
what is convenient for you. Fruit can be
a simple addition to any meal or snack to
introduce a different flavor and texture.
Consider trying out new fruits to discover
what is out there!
Add Vegetables
More often than not, our instinct is to create goals
to restrict — no more sugar, no more carbs, no more
soda or no more fast food.
Similar to fruit, vegetables also contain
many nutrients vital to health. Vegetables
are very versatile and can be added to
almost any meal! Serve your entrée with
leafy greens, add vegetables to a soup you
are making, or pack veggies with nuts or
hummus for a snack. Serve raw with your
favorite dipping sauce, roast with olive oil
and seasoning, or try blanching or boiling!
Frozen and canned vegetables are also excellent
options to include into your diet;
their nutritional quality is extremely comparable
to fresh.
Add Whole Grains
Any food derived from wheat, oats,
rice, cornmeal, barley or other cereal grain
is an example of a food in the grain food
group. Grains may either be whole or
refined. Whole grains contain the entire
grain kernel — whole wheat flour, bulgur,
brown rice and oatmeal are examples. Refined
grains have the bran and germ of
the grain kernel removed, removing fiber,
iron and B vitamins. Refined products are
white flour, white rice and white bread.
Enriched grains are refined grains that
have certain B vitamins and iron added
back in after processing; fiber isn’t added
back. It is recommended to make least
50% of your grain intake whole grains. Including
whole grains containing fiber can
support digestion, reduce the risk of heart
disease and support weight management.
Tip: Popcorn is a whole grain! Try
buying the popcorn kernels and popping
them over the stove or in an air popper,
serve with shake-on seasonings or some
butter and salt.
Final Thoughts
This year, let us all be kind to ourselves
as we select which nutrition goals
we want to set. There is no need to compare
ourselves to others — every person’s
goals and what they consider success will
look very different. Acquiring one sustainable
habit of addition is much more
valuable than dropping six goals of restriction
by April. Consider which goal
you feel most excited about for 2023 and
turn it into a habit by 2024. •
About the Author
Brittany Woodbury, MS, RD,
CD, is a clinical dietitian at
Baptist Health Floyd in New
Albany. She graduated with
her master’s degree in Nutritional
Science and Dietetics and completed her
internship through Brigham Young University
in Provo, Utah. Brittany believes that all foods
can be incorporated into a nutritious diet. In her
spare time, she enjoys spending time cooking
with her husband, baking, playing pickleball or
skiing.
Image: creative commons cc0 license
Southern Indiana Living • Jan/Feb 2023 • 27