March is National Nutrition Month, and our Hyattsville physical therapists are getting in on the action and want you to do the same. Sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the goal of the campaign is to focus on the importance of making informed food choices and developing quality eating and physical activity habits for you and your family. So if you’re not already taking your diet seriously and making informed decisions on what you put into your body every day, now would be a great time to start.

Every National Nutrition Month has a theme that defines the focus of the campaign, and for 2017 it’s “Put Your Best Fork Forward.” The theme is meant to serve as a reminder that each person holds the tool to make healthier food choices with every meal and snack they consume. It’s important to remember that each bite you take counts, and should therefore be seen as an opportunity to make it a smart one. By making small changes at first starting this month and then continuing to uphold them into the future, you can truly stand to improve your overall health and lose some weight in the process.

In a time when overweight and obesity have exploded into an epidemic that is discussed on a nearly constant basis, it’s more important now than ever to take control over eating habits for yourself and your children. One of the first steps towards helping you achieve this is to learn and follow “MyPlate,” the current nutrition guide created by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). MyPlate replaced the familiar Food Pyramid in 2011 and was designed to help consumers make healthier food choices by building a healthy plate with a balance between five food groups.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, our Hyattsville physical therapists present these tips to improve your diet and get more active based on the USDA’s MyPlate:

• Balance calories: find out how many calories you need each day (there are tools to calculate it online like this) and do your best to stick to that amount daily
• Eat smaller meals more often: it’s fine to eat more than three meals a day, so long as they are portioned out properly and you’re not filling up every time; a few small meals throughout the day is much better than two or three massive meals
• Take your time: chew your food properly and don’t rush through meals
• Focus on healthy choices: eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which all have nutrients that are necessary for maintaining optimal health
• Make fruits and veggies half your plate: all are healthy, but try to especially focus on eating lots of red, orange and dark green leafy vegetables
• Favor whole grains: substitute these for refined products whenever possible
• Avoid foods high in trans fats, added sugars and salt: check the labels on anything in a box and save foods high in these for occasional treats, not everyday items
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks: don’t waste empty calories on drinks
• Eat certain types of fish: try to eat fish with high omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. salmon, mackerel, sardines, halibut and cod) about 2-3 times each week
• Exercise regularly: shoot to get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise every week

This may seem like an overload of information, but our Hyattsville physical therapists hope you at least learned something new today about how to improve your diet and lose some weight in the process. Taking charge of your diet will not be solved right away, but by being more aware of how you can improve, you’re already on the right track to success. If you’d like more information and some guides to help you along the way in improving your dietary habits, click here. For any injuries or pain you might be experiencing, call CAM Physical Therapy and Wellness Services at 301-853-0093 to schedule an appointment at any of our three locations in Laurel, Hyattsville or Glenn Dale/Bowie, MD.