You tried to eat healthy over the holidays but may have had difficulty turning down all decadent foods at family dinners and seasonal parties. Well, forget about what you ate last month and start the New Year off on with your InTraining foot forward and a few simple nutrition changes to make this your healthiest year yet.

Bump down you calories per bite
Foods like chocolate, muffins, dessert squares and croissants are calorie-dense, which means they pack more calories in each bite.  Several studies conducted by Kral et al. on food quantity, calorie density and obesity demonstrated that people eat the same volume of food regardless of the calorie density. For example, whether an individual is served a broth based, lower calorie-dense option compared to a creamy high-fat soup, they tended to eat the same number of spoonfuls (Kral et al. 2004).
In the New Year:
Choose more fruit and vegetables, broth-based soup, lean protein and whole grains.
For example, instead of a traditional chicken salad croissant sandwich, choose a grilled chicken salad sandwich with vegetables on whole wheat bread.

Don’t drink your calories
Thirsty? Wouldn’t that glass of juice go nice with breakfast, and that hot chocolate perfect on a walk to work, oh, and that new Starbucks white chocolate mocha would just get me through the afternoon. Over the day that’s an extra meal if we do not modify our food intake. Several studies have shown that when we drink our calories we still eat the same amount of food at the next meal.
In the New Year:
Switch to calorie-free beverages like water, coffee or tea.
Keep tea bags at your office desk and prepare your morning beverages at home before leaving.

Dine at home more
Why eat at home when dining out is easier, sometimes less expensive and more exciting. It is much more difficult to control the calories, ingredients and portions in restaurant foods. At many restaurants you can spend 1,000 calories on an entrée and top it off with an extra 500 with a shared deep dish apple cobbler with ice cream (that is almost your whole day in one meal).
No need to eliminate eating out completely. It is part of many people’s lives and social network. However, making a conscious effort to eat out less frequently and taking a little time to organize and plan meals will make healthy choices easy.
In the New Year:
Make a grocery list each week that includes quick fix meal items like whole wheat bread, deli slices, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, wraps, pasta, chicken breast, and lean ground turkey.
Cook in batches to take leftovers to work for lunch.
Suggest other social activities rather than dinner out. How about a museum tour or nature walk?