We heard from Guthrie County Hospital Registered Dietitian Carol Laughery yesterday as she talked about what her hospital is doing to help area residents develop better eating habits during this National Nutrition Month.

In follow up today, Laughery has some advice for people who have goals this spring of eating healthier and getting in shape, but may not be able to do so because they don’t know where to start.

Well, Laughery says she advises residents to adopt a practice that seems to work in helping to break through that sticking point.

“I think journaling is a great tool because it really helps you recognize what things you are doing.  Just taking a notebook and writing down, ‘what am I eating, am I eating breakfast, what foods have I added into my diet each day?’.  So it’s really looking at your current patterns and trying to identify what the barriers are in that pattern and that lifestyle to help you change those behaviors.”

Laughery says one of the barriers she sees people encountering the most has to do with food availability.

“People don’t plan ahead a lot times and when you’re not planning, you just grab what is convenient.  So (make) a shopping list, and if you know what you’re going to prepare for dinner that night, it makes things a lot easier than if you’re leaving work at 5 o’clock and the pizza at Casey’s is calling you.”

To hear Laughery give more advice about eating right during National Nutrition Month, tune-in to today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County on K107 during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours.