Tackling Nutrition, FitQuest Style Part 3

How many of you are familiar with the MyPlate tool for healthy eating? Some of us have seen it in the cafeteria, others have seen it at the state fair, or maybe it served as an informative distraction while you were in a waiting room. No matter where you have seen it, the MyPlate serves as a tool and guide for eating healthy and encourages making good choices regarding your nutrition. The guide was not designed to make you change everything you eat, but instead serves as a tool you can use to make minor changes that can result in major health benefits. To review the MyPlate healthy-eating tool in detail, we encourage you to look here.

The MyPlate resource covers the positive health effects of introducing more produce into our meals, trying new foods like whole grains, listening to how certain foods make us feel and reducing our intake of added sugars, such as those found in sugary drinks or snacks. Using this guide, we can explore new food options and learn how to make choices that will make us feel better physically, without the pressure of changing everything in our diets all at once. For example, we know it recommends making half of your plate fruits and vegetables, but we also know that is not an easy task, especially when most of your meals are already set and prepared. However, on the nights you know you will have a fruit or vegetable option, you can adopt the half-your-plate goal then and see how you feel. Having fruit as a snack throughout the day will also help. These tips can be applied to each food group and recommendation.

For more recommendations aligned with making informed, healthy choices, look for tips and information on how to be most successful here.

The MyPlate tool can be intimidating for students, and that is normal, next week we will continue to examine healthy-eating choices and the anxiety of making changes!