By Amy Williams

Clark County Health Dept.

Summer brings a lot of opportunities for vacation as well as getting off your routine for life and exercise.

Here are a few ideas to help you stay on track.

— Plan ahead for the week and write meals down on your calendar to avoid the unwanted fast food calories that can happen on a busy day.

Practice doing meal preparation for the work week on Sunday night. Convenience is right in your fridge or freezer.

— Grocery shopping. Use your planned menus as your grocery shopping list.

—Food preparation for snacks. Slice up fruit and vegetables that are easy to grab out of the fridge, instead of grabbing a bag of chips, cookies or candy.

—Eating behaviors. Focus on what you can change easily. Do you eat out of boredom, or eat just because you are watching your favorite television program?

—Holidays and parties. Go for the lighter side in menu planning. Do you really need to sample every dessert or every item?

— Restaurants. Choose more fruits and vegetables and leaner meats. Preferably grilled, baked or broiled, not fried. Skip the rolls, especially at the beginning of meal.

— Physical activity. Defined as moving your body in any way, shape, or form. Moving your body through space.

Think of it as putting money in the bank. Calories will be burned that you can “spend” on other indulgent foods later.

Is it good to think that you can never have pizza or chocolate cake again?

— Self monitoring. Keep food and exercise diaries. Try to remember DIET: Did I Eat That?

Remember moderation is the key! Try a new food and exercise tracking application for your smartphone.

— Reward yourself for new behaviors. Steer clear of food rewards.

Clark County Health Department provides programs for the entire family, including Nutrition Therapy, Freedom from Smoking, WIC, HANDS, family planning, well child care/immunizations and home health care.

For more information on all of our service, call 744-4482 or visit our website at www.clarkhealthdept.org or “like” us on Facebook.