It's Healthy Weight Week (Jan 20-26, 2008)

This is ‘Healthy Weight Week’, established by the Healthy Weight Network, and a good time to remember that a healthy weight is often not our dream weight. A healthy weight includes mental health and physical health and reduced risk for chronic disease. Today is also called ‘Blue Monday’ as it’s the day when conventionally, people are ‘blue’ from breaking their New Year’s resolutions, getting post-holiday bills and the weather. Yes, the weather in the US is not conducive to many outdoor activities right now.

Here’s my suggestion: Avoid falling into the ‘blue’ trap by staying active and making good choices in your diet. Also, be realistic about a healthy weight. Making good choices is not perfection or idealism. Making good choices is making a ‘better’ choice, perhaps with only one or 2 foods, one meal at a time.

In regards to omega-3 fish oil, just by virtue of how omega-3 fats work, if you choose to consume them (reminder: your body can’t make them), they can improve your mood (help prevent the ‘blues’), strengthen your immune system (in the cold weather), support healthy metabolism (while exercising) and reduce inflammation (after exercising or too much celebration).