Unwise, Better & Best Food Choices

Anyone that comes to Hilton Head Health (H3) can remember hearing these three very important words from our Director of Education, Bob Wright:

"Unwise, Better, Best"

Those of you reading today's blog that are new to this phrase are about to learn a simple but pivotal tips to help you achieve your balanced, healthy lifestyle.

During the summer there are: holidays, weekend cookouts, dinner and cocktails with friends on the weekends and sometimes weekdays, plus sweets and goodies waiting for you in the office. Not to mention right after summer there's a myriad of well-know holidays, that we won't mention, ready to do wreck havoc on your healthy diet.

Prevent the disruption of your healthy diet; get into these healthy habits to make better food choices:

1. While at a cookout, party or event, scan the food options before you eat and categorize each option into 1 of 3 choices: unwise, better or best. Weigh each choice considering where each food option would lie on a unhealthy to healthy scale. Use that to scale to guide you with your food choices.

2. If you have a treat, make sure you eat it slowly and mindfully. Savor every single bite. This tip helps with not only treats but your daily food intake. By taking time to eat and taste your food, you're able to easily gauge how full you are getting and this can help prevent overeating.

3. Don't underestimate calories. More times than not, half of an entree or salad has more than enough calories for a full meal. Something on a menu might sound healthier than other items but you might want to double-check calorie counts using websites/apps like: My Fitness Pal, SparkPeople and Calorie King.

Could you use more healthy guidance from our Healthy Lifestyle experts? Email us your questions at getinspired@hhhealth.com; you're question could be the inspiration for our next post.