By now, most of us have eaten our way through the pies, cakes, cookies and candies which graced our holiday tables. Our snug britches show it. Where do we go from here? I suggest we forget about the celery water diets of yesteryear, or the modern day Glp-needles in the belly. Let’s change our approach to eating and daily health maintenance.

Disclaimer: I ain’t no doc. If you are under medical care, please check with a real doc before taking my untrained medical advice. These are suggestions to explore. (PS: Traditionally, doctors have been trained to put out fires after the brush is burning. Let’s clear the undergrowth first.)

Here are four suggestions to consider for improving or maintaining your health.

1)  Keep moving. Our bodies do best when we add daily movement to our regime. Use the gym, walk around the block, take the stairs at work, ride a bike, take up gardening. Or, adopt a healthy routine like tai chi, yoga or dance. Bend, move, stretch. Movement reduces stress and will likely improve your circulation. You don’t have to become a full-time jock to succeed, but that easy chair and excessive screen time will eventually kill you.

2)  Time-restricted eating. Let’s face it. Strict diet restrictions usually fail over time. We get bored, hungry or inadvertently train our body to slow its metabolism to survive in this new strict world, and eventually regain weight from less nutrients. (Homeostasis resets your caloric burn level to meet lowered intake.) So, try to confine eating to 8 to 10 hours a day, and leave your body free time to metabolize the food and clean up the damaged cells during remaining 14-16 hours. Read about intermittent fasting from Docs like Jason Fung.

3)  Protect and nurture your micro-biome. Your lower gut/ intestines houses thousands, perhaps millions, of microbes that are really the chemical factory for your body and brain. A diet which includes vegetables and fruits (real fiber, not just manufactured supplements that mostly get destroyed in your acid-charged stomach). These guys are your friends. Consider adding leafy greens, carrots, beans, apples and fermented foods like yogurt, kafir, kraut or kimchi to your daily diet. Check out podcasts on ZOE where laymanized food health science and nutrition are discussed. For example, their nutritionists suggest trying to work in 30 different plants, herbs, spices into your weekly diet.

4)  Cut back on overly-processed foods. Current food science is filling you with long-shelf- life, artificially conjured and colored Frankenstein foods. If the ingredients are as long as your arm or unpronounceable, leave it! Try cooking at home with just a few real ingredients. Drag out the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, greens, herbs, beans and broths. You are not too busy to make a pot of hearty soup, chili, etc. and serve it several times over the week. Cut back or end the sweetened drinks and cakes, breads, white rice and desserts. Your pancreas is working overtime to release insulin to store this quick “energy” as fat, or a journey toward diabetes.

So, let’s eat smarter. And when it’s time to celebrate, celebrate. Back on the horse tomorrow… Learn from the info-rich internet how to do things smarter, healthier. Experiment. Get away from convenience foods when possible. Snack on whole fruits and nuts instead of colas, juices and chips.

Be well, young grasshoppers…

Nick Della Volpe is a lawyer, a gardener and a former member of Knoxville City Council.