March is National Nutrition Month: take steps to improve your eating habits

03/04/2021

Good nutrition is about more than just counting calories to lose weight. It is about fueling your body with the right vitamins and nutrients it needs to keep you going.

Maintaining a healthy weight with proper nutrition and healthy eating habits is a vital part of preventive health. Adults should eat around two cups of fruits and three cups of vegetables per day, while also adding more whole grains to their diets, suggests the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. But, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one in 10 US adults eat the recommended amount of fruits or vegetables each day.

Nutrition-focused self-management programs

Tackling your diet can seem like a big task, but as a HealthSelect of Texas® participant, including Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM, you have helpful resources available at no additional cost to you.

HealthSelectSM and Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM:

Well onTarget® gives you access to a variety of self-management programs. These may help you improve your eating habits and your health:

  • Nutrition for Better Health: Eat better to feel better. Learn ways to improve your health and lower your risk of illness with good nutrition and healthy eating habits.
  • Improving Your Cholesterol: If you have high cholesterol, this program can guide you in making lasting lifestyle changes that have been shown to keep cholesterol in check. Learn about weight, nutrition, physical activity and tobacco as they relate to cholesterol.
  • Managing Your Metabolic Syndrome: Learn about the five risk factors that contribute to metabolic syndrome: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood sugar and low HDL (healthy cholesterol).

When you start a self-management program, you’ll be able to track your progress from beginning to end. You’ll also get a midpoint and final assessment of your progress. Log in to the Well onTarget portal through Blue Access for MembersSM to sign up for a self-management program. You can also download the AlwaysOn® Wellness smartphone app on Google Play and the App Store.

Need a little extra support from a weight management expert? Choose from two different weight management programs

The HealthSelect health plans offer programs that may help you achieve your weight management goals and improve your overall health. You will be encouraged to adopt daily habits, such as eating healthier or getting more active, that may help your overall wellness.

Take a look at what’s available under your plan:

HealthSelect plans
Under HealthSelect, you can apply to join one of two weight management programs: either Naturally Slim® or Real Appeal®. You can participate in one of the programs at a time–at no cost to yourself–if you meet the eligibility requirements below.

You are eligible if you are:
an employee, retiree or covered dependent enrolled in a HealthSelect plan,

  • 18 or older and
  • have a BMI of 23 or higher.

You must choose one program or the other:

  • Naturally Slim is an online program that teaches you mindful eating techniques and healthy habits at your own pace. The program’s online coaches are your support system and help you learn how to pay attention to the appetite signals your body sends you. No foods are off limits!

-or-

  • Real Appeal is an online weight management program that has personal transformation coaches who help you get healthy and fit through weekly online group classes, tracking apps, and nutritional and fitness guides. You get a success kit to kick-start your weight loss that includes exercise DVDs and food guides–so you don’t have to give up your favorite foods.

If you have questions about these programs or other medical benefits, please call a BCBSTX Personal Health Assistant toll-free at (800) 252-8039 (TTY: 711), Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. CT, and Saturday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. CT.