New year, new diet?

This time of year everybody wants to talk about new diets for the new year. Everyone wants a new diet for weight loss, health and wellbeing, inspired by the new page turning on the calendar.

While it is great that this artificial time point can be a motivator, don’t let it trick you into thinking you need a REVOLUTION when you can, and are more likely to reach your goals, through making revisions - small changes toward your goal, rather than huge overhauls.

Wendy Wei via Pexels

My single tip to improve your diet in the new year isn’t about weight loss or supplements, it won’t cost you big bucks, and it isn’t actually very hard. Just eat more vegetables. Simples. You don’t need to eat any special “superfood” veg, and you don’t need to cook them in the healthiest way or eat them raw, just have some.

Add them to something you are already cooking, eat them raw, add cheese, cream, salt, herbs, spices, whatever appeals to you - just eat them.

Veggies are good for us - that is not in scientific doubt, there are LOTS of high quality studies on this (even though nutrition science is messy and complicated.

Why are veggies so good for us? There’s more than one reason - they have fibre (good for the gut), they have phytochemicals (the chemical in plants like antioxidants that are good for us), they have lots of micronutrients (nutrients we need to survive and thrive) and they are low in calories (energy or kilojoules - meaning that they help fill you up without contributing to weight gain). Eating more veg can mean that you are more satisfied, so you snack less, but you don’t even need to think about that whole “avoiding junk” blah blah, just think about adding in goodness, and don’t over think that either.

Remember, small revisions, not revolutions.