Our on staff dietitian Marcy Russo suggests we add citrus fruit to our daily diet and supplement routine. Why? Because citrus fruit is a natural multivitamin/mineral supplement. Besides being a rich source of natural vitamin C (more than your day’s quota is found in one medium orange or 2 tangerines), citrus fruit supplies B-vitamins and potassium, calcium and other minerals such as magnesium and copper. Because they are watery and filled with fiber, citrus fruits are a great addition to weight-loss diets.
Marcy also recommends setting SMART goals for your weight loss objectives. If you haven’t heard about them, SMART is an acronym for:
Specific: What exactly am I going to do? Examples: “I will … walk/swim/choose/ eat/not eat/drink/not drink …”
Measurable: How much or for how long will I do it? Examples: “2 cups of vegetables every day; 1 citrus fruit every morning; walk for 20 minutes 3 days this week …”
Attainable/achievable: Can I do this with reasonable effort? “Get on the exercise bike during commercial breaks” or “Add one cup of greens to my lunch every day” are examples of attainable goals.
Realistic: Be honest with yourself: “I will eat no more than three Hershey kisses two times this week” may be more doable than “I will never eat chocolate as long as I live.”
Timely: What can I do now that will have a positive effect on my health goals? An example for someone who needs to get diabetes under control might be: “I will check my blood glucose before and two hours after one meal each day.”
Marcy Russo is a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Internal Medicine of Southwest Florida.