Bites: January 2025 - Navigating the New Year  

Welcome to the reimagined Bites newsletter by ModifyHealth. Join us each month as we deliver helpful, practical advice to help you on your health and wellness journey. Every topic will come with tips and resources to set you up for lasting success.

Uh-oh, is your New Year’s resolution starting to slip already? It’s not too late to build rock-solid resolutions for better health in 2025. Set yourself up for success by transforming your resolutions into S.M.A.R.T. goals!

S.M.A.R.T. goals are:  

S = Specific 

M = Measurable 

A = Appropriate 

R = Realistic 

T = Time-bound

Smart goals can be short-term or long-term but should always include a time frame. Here’s an example. Say your resolution is to eat more vegetarian meals. But you’ve got two problems: your partner really likes meat, and you need some ideas for meatless entree recipes. S.M.A.R.T. goals include solutions! 

• S.M.A.R.T. goal 1: This Sunday afternoon, I will spend 1 hour creating a list of 10 meat-free recipes from my Mediterranean Diet cookbook (or the internet) to enjoy in 2025.
  
  
• S.M.A.R.T. goal 2: Each week in 2025, I will make at least 1 recipe featuring plant-based protein, with leftover meat or chicken served on the side.

Are your goals S.M.A.R.T., or do they need some polishing? Keep working until you are satisfied that you have set yourself up for success. Start with just one or two goals you know you can follow through on. Build more goals over time!

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Do you have IBS? January is a great time to try a low FOMAP diet. The goal is to learn whether cutting way back on certain sugars and certain fibers (FODMAPs) in your food makes you feel better. GastroGirl’s recent interview with Patsy Catsos is a great place to learn about low FODMAP diet and how to make it work for you.

As you get started, keep these tips in mind:

• Do it for the right reasons. Low FODMAP diets are for people with IBS, or with abdominal and bowel symptoms in some other gastrointestinal conditions. Up to 85% of people with IBS report significant improvement in symptoms and better quality of life on a low FODMAP diet

• Use the right tools. We recommend the Monash University FODMAP Diet App

• Commit to understanding the nuances. The same foods can be high, medium, or low in FODMAPs depending on the serving size. Use the app to adjust your serving sizes or choose foods that are lower in FODMAPs.

• Don't overdo it. Resist black-and-white thinking that might be too restrictive and not sustainable. Limit your intake by reducing your intake of high FODMAP foods, but don’t go beyond the requirements of the diet! The diet does not have to be dairy-free or gluten-free. You can (and most people should) still eat a wide variety of nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, and vegetables in low FODMAP serving sizes. Work with a dietitian if you have additional dietary restrictions.

After 3-6 weeks on the diet, decide whether your dietary experiment has made a difference for you. If not, try something else for your IBS, like the Mediterranean diet, or return to a regular diet. If a low FODMAP diet did help you feel better, move on to Step 2, FODMAP reintroduction, to figure out more specifically what your symptom triggers are. If you need help, reach out to an experienced GI dietitian. 

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The Mediterranean diet has been around for centuries. In countries around the Mediterranean Sea, people eating a traditional diet have been found to have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other health problems. The diet has anti-inflammatory effects too! Best of all, the diet is full of flavor.

When we talk about the Mediterranean diet, we are talking about a way of eating that is primarily plant-based, with legumes, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh herbs. The diet may also include fish, seafood, and smaller amounts of poultry and milk products. Other foods such as red meat and sweets are eaten less frequently. It’s a pattern to aim for, a direction to go in, not a rigid plan with a lot of rules. The closer you follow this pattern, the more health benefits you are likely to get. 

With food choices from the Mediterranean diet, the serving sizes can be larger or smaller depending on whether you are trying to gain, lose, or maintain a stable weight.

Here's a few tips to help get you started: 

• Use extra virgin olive oil in your food, instead of butter, plant-based spreads, or other oils.

• Water should be your main beverage, instead of fruit juice, sweetened beverages, or alcohol. If it is safe for you to drink, a small glass of red wine with the evening meal is the best choice.

• Choose “whole foods” instead of ultra-processed foods. You probably don’t need us to remind you to choose whole potatoes instead of potato chips. Minimally processed foods like canned or frozen vegetables, cheese, and traditional breads, are fine. But think carefully before choosing heavily marketed plant-based foods. Dairy-free cheese, coffee creamers, and vegan chicken nuggets were not on the table in olden Greece or Italy.

Know yourself! You can go all-in to fully makeover your diet if you have a lot of energy. But it's also OK to start with just a few Mediterranean meals per week; you can move closer to the full dietary pattern over time. Where will you begin?