Apply Back-to-School Lessons to Be Healthier This Fall
For many of us, September signals a return to school, work and routine. As a result, the fall can be a very busy time of year and some of our best intentions to eat better and move more tend to take a backseat to everything else on the to-do list.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Here's how we can adapt back-to-school strategies to meet our health goals:
1. Set a Schedule
Teachers provide students with a classroom schedule. For work, we have appointment books and calendars to keep track of meetings and deadlines. So why not keep a schedule at home, for workouts and to keep track of responsibilities, like whose turn it is to shop or cook? Scheduling a workout or a meal makes it much more likely to happen.
2. Do Your Homework
This consists of more than what we bring home from the classroom or the boardroom. Making a meal is homework. Creating a shopping list is homework. Cleaning the house is the epitome of homework.
As with school, you must do your homework to reap the rewards. By sticking to a grocery list and nutritious recipe to make meals, you eat healthier. If you work out, your body and mind benefit from the positive effects. If you clean your home, you expend calories and actually have space to study, read or relax.
3. Purchase Supplies
Lunchboxes are not just for kids. There are some creative bento boxes, small containers with compartments to hold food for a single meal, with built-in ice packs or cool salad containers.
Just as pens, pencils and paper are necessary in the classroom, quality pots, pans and utensils are essential in the kitchen. Check your cupboards and toss the oregano with the gray fuzz or the crusty vinegar. New seasonings and appliances makes us more likely to unleash our inner Top Chef.
4. Prepare for Tomorrow
All of us had to do summer reading before the start of the school year, and many times we bring work home from the office, so we can get ahead. Preparations to meet health goals can be as simple as packing the gym bag the night before or laying out exercise clothes for an early morning workout.
In the kitchen, eating better is more easily accomplished when we have made a list, purchased the food and even done some ingredient assembly, in advance, to save time after a long work day.
5. Do Extra Credit
You can't do several exercise sessions in on one day and be done for the rest of the week. But you can prepare meals in advance by cooking a lot on the weekend or using your slow cooker so you have more time to exercise at the end of the day.
6. Earn Participation Points
Eating is a social activity. Sharing purchasing, preparation, plating and cleanup duties takes the burden off the person who typically makes food at home.
If you are single, consider a potluck-style approach with your co-workers, so that maybe one day you make a dinner, and then someone else reciprocates on another night. The advantage is you get to share, not despair when it comes to shopping and cooking.
Take a group exercise class or be an exercise buddy to keep workouts from becoming dull for you or others. This can also decrease the likelihood you will skip a planned workout.
We never outgrow our need to learn. Apply some of the skills from school to help you eat well, move more and enjoy your fall.
Leslie J. Bonci , MPH, RD,CSSD, LDN, is a nutrition consultant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She serves as the sports dietitian for the University of Pittsburgh's department of athletics, and is a nutrition consultant for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Chiefs. She is the company nutritionist for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and a sports nutrition consultant to the WNBA. Leslie was the director of Sports Nutrition for the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and also worked with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Nationals.
Leslie is starting a new career path focusing on mobile training tables with food coaches to help active kids and teens be fit, fed and have fun. She is also developing programs to help kids cultivate, investigate and appreciate an appreciation for cooking and gardening with Camp Delicious and Root Camp. She has a weekly segment, "The Winning Plate" on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's Pittsburgh Today Live. She is the author of the "American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion" and "Sport Nutrition for Coaches."
