We all know what happens on a day that escapes us. It just  

seems to get busier and busier until all of the sudden it's dinnertime and you're pulling over to grab a pizza on the way home. Poor planning followed by poor eating is not just a coincidence. Research has shown that if people make a concrete plan about what they are going to do, they are better at acting on their intentions.

In a study recently published in Psychology and Health, researchers at McGill University asked 177 students at McGill's new residence hall to set themselves the goal of consuming more fruit for a period of seven days. All of the students in the study ended up consuming more fruit over the course of the week than they had before hand. However, those who made a concrete plan, wrote it down and also visualized how they were going to carry out the action (e.g. when, where and how they would buy, prepare and eat fruit) increased their fruit consumption twice as much as those who simply set out to eat more fruit without visualizing and planning how they were going to do it.

Bottom Line:

In the same way athletes use visualization techniques to mentally forecast a play or a goal, so too can we use these techniques to mentally rehearse how we are going to eat healthfully and exercise in the course of our busy day.  Make a plan to eat healthy and then stick to it! 

Source: Fruitful plans: Adding targeted mental imagery to implementation intentions increases fruit consumption. Psychology & Health, 2011.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a consumer advocacy group which, since 1971, has been an advocate for nutrition, health and food and alcohol safety. Right now, CSPI is in a campaign to support the progress already made toward ensuring healthful lunches in schools. Last year, the Senate unanimously passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), requiring the USDA to improve school meals and allow it to finish updating school nutrition standards that are long overdue. Once the proposed school nutrition guidelines are implemented, our nation's school children will have access to healthier meals that include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat milk; less sodium, unhealthy fats, and calories; and better accountability and compliance with the standards.

However, some members of Congress want to roll back progress on improving school lunches, despite the sky-high childhood obesity rates. The French fry industry and other food interests are working to get Congress to stop the USDA from finalizing these sensible school nutrition standards. The House of Representatives has already included a rider in its Agriculture spending bill urging USDA to start over from scratch and propose a new set of school meal standards-even though tens of thousands of parents and organizations wrote in to support these important improvements! UGH!

If industry is successful in convincing the Senate to do the same, the goal of seeing healthy school lunches in cafeterias across the country will be in serious jeopardy.  

Please help by sending an email to each of your Senators  today, asking them to support the USDA's efforts to improve school meals.  

Source: www.cspinet.org

Ever wonder if your metabolism is keeping you from reaching your weight goals? Let a Sensible Nutrition RD measure YOUR metabolism and tell you the truth! Call 781-741-5483 or send an email to nutritionist@sensiblenutrition.com to schedule your appointment.  

About Sensible Nutrition

Sensible Nutrition is a consulting firm established in 1994 that provides nutrition and fitness services to individuals, universities, corporate wellness programs and nonprofit groups. SN's client list includes The United States Coast Guard, Blue Cross Blue Shield, EMC, Putnam Investments, Corcoran Jennison, Harvard Business School, Boston Ballet and Children's Hospital. For more information about our corporate wellness services, please check us out at www.wellnessworkdays.com.

SN services: One-to-one counseling, fitness counseling and training, group lectures, metabolism measures and more! Let the Sensible Nutrition staff develop a nutrition program to help you finally reach your health and weight goals! Gift Certificates are available!

Debra Wein, MS, RD, LDN, SN President and Co-Founder writes a regular nutrition column for the National Strength and Conditioning Association's  Performance Training Journal, has been quoted in Family Circle, Muscle & Fitness, Shape, Self, Men's Health, Allure and Prevention and has appeared on Fox 25, Channel 56, Channel 5, New England Cable News and several radio stations.

Contact us at www.sensiblenutrition.com or 781-741-5483.