By Rachel Meltzer Warren, MS, RD
Is your idea of healthy eating using margarine instead of butter and swapping out regular soda for diet? It’s great that you’re putting energy into improving your nutrition. But you may be falling into the “negative nutrition” trap as so many others have done before. You know that saturated-fat-laden foods that contain butter and sugar aren’t good, so you’ve removed them from your diet. But in their places, you’re adding potentially worse-for-you substitutes.
So what’s a healthy hopeful to do? My best nutrition advice to you is to start from scratch. Instead of taking your existing diet and replacing foods, begin building a nutritious way of eating from the ground up. This method works because you are in control and are making decisions based on what nutrients foods have rather than the things that they don’t. Rather than dieting for a short-term goal, like losing weight for that beach vacation, you’re making changes that will last the long haul and help you stay strong, fight disease, stave off weight gain and live a long, healthy life.
These tried-and-true tips will help you look great, feel better, and enjoy delicious, satisfying foods. It’s a plan anyone can develop a taste for!
Rachel Meltzer Warren is a New York City–based nutrition writer, educator and counselor.
