It’s not uncommon on a daily basis to overhear a conversation about someone’s latest diet fad. Whether you’re in line at the grocery store, talking with a close friend or working with a client, diet fads are a dime a dozen. As a dietitian, presenting a healthy, well-rounded diet and exercise plan is the #1 goal. However, sometimes it seems like people like the fad diet so much better because it sounds easier. In reality, we all know that maintaining a healthy diet and incorporating physical activity in to your lifestyle is the easiest approach. So, how can you help those around you understand that it’s easy too?

The hardest part of enjoying a healthy life is getting started! Whether your goal is to learn more about the ingredients in the food you eat, monitor your calorie intake, start a regular physical activity routine, or a combination of all of these, getting started is often the hardest part. For some of you, as the dietitian, helping your patients understand the logic behind getting healthy can be a pretty big challenge too.

This is why we strive to make everything simple. By learning two simple NCES concepts, you can begin your path down the road to a healthier lifestyle in no time. And, did we mention we’re ‘Fad Diet Free’, meaning that everything we teach focuses on simple, healthy nutrition; no starvation diets, crazy pills, chemicals, or activities that require any kind of shaking weight!

Our S.T.A.R.T. concept offers 5 simple recommendations for creating and maintaining a healthy diet. This idea keeps you from spending time counting calories. Instead, you’ll be focusing on general rules to follow when thinking about the foods that you are going to eat.

S – Solid Fats & Added Sugars: These provide no nutritional value and should be avoided as much as possible. Examples include: cake, cookies, butter, margarine, regular soda.

T – Try to make half your plate fruits and vegetables: A serving of fruits and vegetables can be fresh, frozen, dried or canned in their own juices.

A – Avoid oversized portions: Monitor serving sizes and enjoy your food, just eat less.

R – Refresh with water: Make water the beverage of choice and limit beverages with added sugars.

T – Track your Sodium: Limit foods that are high in salt like pre-packaged snacks and meals.

The second concept is our E.I.E.O. concept. This idea focuses on balancing Energy In (calories) with Energy Out (exercise). It sounds so simple. But, it’s amazing how simple the idea of maintaining a balanced lifestyle can be. If you focus on burning the calories that you consume above and beyond what your body needs to function every day, you’ll have nothing left over to turn in to fat. One of the easiest ways to get started here is to go online and determine your personal BMR using an online BMR calculator. You need to be sure to consume these calories each day, remembering the rules in the S.T.A.R.T. concept as you choose your foods, in order to fuel your body. Then, you need to make sure that you’re exercising to burn any calories above and beyond this amount of calories that you consume.

The great thing about both of these concepts is that they work perfectly for everyone! No matter your age, size, gender, nationality, etc. these recommendations will help you live a healthier life. Enjoying the benefits of healthy eating and regular physical activity is not limited to certain people. By incorporating these simple ideas in to your everyday life will allow you to enjoy all the benefits that come with having a healthy body!