There are so many wonderful things to be excited about for fall – the weather changes, the holidays are approaching, the leaves change, and you get to enjoy your favorite comfort foods. Unfortunately, this can also mean eating a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. This is okay in small amounts, but if you feel like you over-indulge in the fall season, our Studio City functional medicine doctors at Functional Medicine Los Angeles believe it might be a good time to focus on a balanced diet.
Reduce Refined Sugar
There is nothing wrong with enjoying treats and your favorite comfort foods in the fall, but when you over-indulge, it could mean feeling miserable, having no energy, and putting on unwanted pounds. If you want to try to avoid this and start a new diet in the fall, our functional medicine Los Angeles doctors suggest starting with your sugar content. This doesn’t mean natural sugar like in fruit or raw honey, but the refined sugar found in pastries, donuts, cookies, pies, and other baked treats.
Try to keep these to a minimum, saving them for special occasions; it makes them more special and is a good first step to starting a new diet without feeling like you are completely restricting yourself.
Eat Seasonal Foods
Starting a “diet” is not always about taking something away, but adding something healthy. Use this mindset to add healthy options to your meals and snacks that are in season and perfect for fall. For example, some fall superfoods include Brussels sprouts, apples, pears, pomegranates, cauliflower, and squash. When you add these healthy foods, you get a lot more vitamins and minerals and often feel fuller between meals when you fill up on your veggies and fruits. According to functional medicine Burbank experts, the more veggies you eat, the less refined carbs you feel you need.
Focus on a Healthy Balance, Not Restrictions
Again, it is important to focus on a healthy balance in your meals, even when you are trying to lose weight or just maintain your weight over the holidays. In the fall, get rid of all those diet restrictions and just have balanced meals instead. If you want bread, eat bread! However, our functional medicine Studio City practitioners would recommend eating it with a meal that includes lean protein, vegetables, whole grains, and maybe some fruit.
Enjoy Your Exercise
When you start a new diet, incorporate some exercise as well. Exercise is really only 20% of losing weight, while your diet is the remaining 80%. But it does help to burn some calories, keep you fit, and give you energy. Plus, when you are exercising regularly, it helps a lot with curbing those cravings.