After the oliebollen you probably crave something healthy. And this year you will stick to that healthy lifestyle. The secret:keep it simple.
One change per week =52 changes per year
Changing eating habits difficult? Start with something small. Such as:drink more water. Add something every week. At the end of the year you look back on 52 new eating habits! (And did you know that most habits are already ingrained in your brain after about three weeks?)
Tip 1:Start the week with Meatless Monday (or:eat even less meat)
Eating less meat yields double benefits. Fatty meat contains unhealthy trans fats, which are bad for the heart and blood vessels. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) links both red meat (beef, pork or lamb) and processed meat (such as frankfurters, ham or sausages) to colon cancer. By limiting your consumption of these types of meat, you not only reduce the risk of these diseases, you also automatically introduce more healthy variation (vegetables, fiber) into your diet. According to research by Motivaction (2015), 55 percent of the Dutch are already flexitarian. This means that you do not eat meat at least three days a week. Are you not yet a flexitarian? Start by entering a Meatless Monday and see how it goes. Gradually increase the number of meat-free days. In any case, never eat more than 500 grams of meat per week and never more than 50 grams of processed meat per day (WHO advice).
Read the other 18 tips in the January issue of Santé.
