Jennifer LaRue Huget, the “eat, drink and be healthy” columnist for The Washington Post, recently interviewed some of her past sources for the column about their resolutions for “being healthful through the holiday season and beyond.” While a few are a bit too ambitious for me – such as Doctor’s Detox Diet author Christine Gerbstadt’sgoal to improve her marathon time and consume her “own-grown papayas and pineapples” – most of the resolutions struck me as eminently doable and even appealing. Meaning: They might actually be kept.
For example, Douglas “Duffy” MacKay, vice president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, wants to incorporate in his dinner the trick he started using at lunch: He first consumes an apple and a glass of water, then waits for 10 full minutes before eating the rest of his meal. “The apple, the water and the food pause help me feel fuller, making my sandwich or salad more satisfying,” he notes.
Several of the interviewees pledged to make plant-based foods a bigger part of their diets. Nava Atlas, author of Vegan Holiday Kitchen, vowed to continue setting her laptop on a board that’s on her treadmill, helping counter her tendency to be a “lazy exerciser.” But my favorite resolution in the column came from Joshua Sparrow, child psychiatrist and co-author of Touchpoints Three to Six.
“This holiday season, I’ll try to sing in harmony with my family, laugh with little kids and listen to my elders’ stories,” he said. “As for food, health comes not just from what you eat, but how you eat (slowly enough to savor) and how you share – in peace.”
Are you making resolutions for the new year to maintain or enhance your physical, mental and/or emotional health? What do you believe will help you achieve your goals?
