Do you look and feel healthy? Are you able to move and do the things you like, easily? Is your body receiving nutrition from the food you eat? How do your jeans fit? Do you think your diet should improve? 

The honest answers to these questions are as important as your weight.

Whether you want to gain, lose or maintain your weight, remember that the most important thing is nutrition. If you eat healthy foods, your body will look and feel good, have more energy, be better able to handle stress, and prevent disease. 

The following will help you make healthy changes that you can live with, so you won’t have to suffer through special diets that don’t work in the long run. 

According to Georgia State University research, eating snacks creates a better metabolism. They proved that it gives you more energy, and has you eating less at regular meal times. The article states that “The final result is a higher metabolic rate, a lower caloric intake, and reduced body fat.” So instead of focusing on cutting back, leaving yourself hungry and frustrated, consider adding more. More snacks — of veggies and fruits. 

The fact is, you don’t have to watch what you eat if you make sure you watch what you buy. Find healthy foods you enjoy eating so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. If quantity is an issue for you, try using small plates, bowls and cups, take smaller bites, eat slowly and chew your food well. After your meal, clear the food away from the table as soon as possible, so you don’t keep nibbling.

If you don’t care for salads or cooked vegetables by themselves, dice and mix them into whatever you’re making: burritos, casseroles, pasta, stews, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, brown rice, quinoa, etc. Always think of meat as a side dish, not the main course.

When shopping, avoid the candy and potato chip aisles altogether. Don’t look at them, and walk past them quickly. The longer you think about junk food, the more apt you are to buy them. Turn your mind toward something else. 

In the summertime, put fruit (bananas, grapes, berries, cherries) in the freezer. They taste like ice cream when they’re eaten frozen. Dried fruit is also a good dessert.

Remember that drinks have calories too. Check the nutrition label for sugar content. Four grams equals one teaspoon of sugar. Rather than artificial sweeteners that your body doesn’t recognize as food, use local, organic honey, which is actually good for you. 

Studies have shown there’s a link between drinking sodas and osteoporosis, stroke, heart attack and depression. Instead of them, drink plenty of water. If it will help you drink more, add a little juice to it to give it some flavor. I don’t recommend bottled water. The bottles are terrible for the environment and there’s controversy over the plastic leaching into the water. Put a filter on your tap and refill a stainless steel or glass bottle for travel. 

Green tea is better for you than coffee, but if you drink coffee, make sure it’s organic. Coffee beans can have a high amount of pesticides in them.

Diane’s motto:  If God created it, it’s probably okay to eat. So don’t shy away from avocados, eggs and nuts. They’re good for you. Stay away from anything in what I like to call the “Twinkie family” — highly processed food and drinks.

Eat and drink what you know is right 90 percent of the time, and don’t worry when you splurge. Guilt is a useless emotion that only weighs us down. While the specific foods we put into our bodies is important, it’s also important to be kind to ourselves. 

Learn the emotional component of what drives you to overeat, or eat the wrong foods. Quite often we have feelings of love or happiness associated with food. Once we understand this, we can work toward creating these good feelings without the use of food. This can make a huge difference in our eating habits.

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What is the best form of exercise? Jogging, biking, kickboxing, weight training, Pilates? What about gardening, tennis, canoeing, or golf? When I did an informal survey with my friends, the most common answers were walking, swimming, yoga and sex. These are all good answers, but not really the one I was looking for.

The fact is, there isn’t one exercise that’s perfect for everyone. It’s important to pay attention to the needs of your particular body. If you’re prone to osteoporosis, you’ll want to do weight bearing exercises like walking, running, dancing and weight lifting. Swimming and bicycling are non-weight bearing exercises, which don’t strengthen the bones.

They do, however, work your cardiorespiratory system and tone the body. They’re also great for people who are overweight or have joint issues.

People with arthritis need to move their bodies gently, even if it hurts, making sure they don’t push their joints to their end range of motion. If joints hurt non-arthritic people during exercise, they should stop immediately, and perform a modification or a different exercise. Older people may need to incorporate more balance and flexibility into their routine, while young athletes may need to focus on agility and power movements. Abdominal exercises are extremely important for the vast majority, regardless of age or ability, but are contraindicated for pregnant women and people with hernias.

There are four components to exercise for a really thorough workout: Strengthening, stretching, cardiorespiratory training (aerobics) and balance. It’s common for those who are naturally flexible to gravitate toward yoga and stretching, when what they really need is more strengthening exercises to balance them out. On the contrary, people who are naturally strong and easily build muscle tend to gravitate toward strength training, but should incorporate more stretching into their routines to keep them from injury.

To figure out what type of exercise you should do, the number one question to ask yourself is, “What do you like to do?”

If you like what you’re doing, you’re more apt to keep with it. Follow up with these questions: Do you need to adapt the exercise(s) to stay safe? Will it help you accomplish your fitness goals? Does your routine include stretching, strengthening, aerobics and balance work? Do you need a trainer to show you correct form, inspire you, give you new ideas or keep you motivated?

Exercise of some form should be done every day. That’s not to say that if tennis is your workout, that you should play tennis every day. It’s good to mix up your activities so you work your muscles differently.

Abdominal exercise, aerobics, balance and stretching should be done at least three times per week, but can be worked every day. Strength training should be done at least twice per week, but not more than every other day. For those who work their bodies hard, I recommend taking one day off each week for rest.

If you have an injury, don’t assume you can’t exercise. If one part of your body can’t exercise, then work the parts you can. People in wheel chairs should exercise. People with arthritis should exercise. People with cancer should exercise. Depressed people should exercise. People with heart conditions should exercise. People with hip replacements should exercise. Of course all these situations require a different form and level of exercise, but none the less, these issues should not keep you from doing something.

Exercise improves mood, combats chronic disease, helps manage your weight, boosts your energy level, promotes better sleep, and more. If you’re not sure what you can or should do, ask a professional for advice. I do not recommend learning from the Internet, as there is a lot of misinformation there.

Once you settle in on an exercise routine, do everything you can to make it enjoyable. Find a partner, or put on your favorite music, so you’ll want to do it. Once you start seeing improvements, you’ll find it easier to stay with it, and you’ll be a healthier, happier person.