Today, Muskego BOC Sabrina Mitchell shares some thoughts on healthy eating:

I watch out for salt because it makes you feel bloated by sucking up all the water that’s already in your body, causing dehydration. Dairy is harder to figure out — about half the reports I find say stay away from it, because it’s too fatty, and the other half say, no, eat it, because the probiotics in foods such as yogurt are so good for you. I don’t get why these reports need to make it any harder to achieve a healthy lifestyle!

A tip I saw on Dr. Oz was that with each meal, you should eat a salad first. It helps you feel like you’re eating a lot more, and you feel fuller faster, which helps keep you from eating the “not so good” foods. And salads are so low in calories! So, yeah, that slice of pizza might have been bad for you, but then again, you only ate ONE slice because you were full from a delicious and HEALTHY salad!

I love the trick of downsizing your plate as well, to help ensure you don’t overeat. You can buy appetizer plates and smaller bowls — everything doesn’t have to be on a huge plate, because when you look at a huge plate, you instinctively want to fill it up; otherwise your brain thinks you don’t have enough food. A related study looked at the color of your plate: When it contrasts with the color of your food, you will think you’re eating more. For example, if you use a white plate for spaghetti, it looks like you have a lot more. But use a red plate and, on average, a person will eat a half pound more! Because the color mixes in, it doesn’t look like you’re eating that much! If all else fails, just keep smaller plates and bowls around and fill those up — you’ll STILL be eating less than when you use a large plate!

I love sharing appetizers when I go out with my girlfriends because you get to try a little of everything! If it’s just two of us, a lot of places offer half orders of appetizers as well.

If you’re interested in being part of a weekly wellness post, please email us at shorelines@northshorebank.com, or just leave a comment on this post and Josh will contact you. Thanks so much, and keep up the healthy work!