Nutrition and Diet: Plan of Attack, Part Two (Health Blog Post #15)
Did you do your homework?
If not, head back to the last post and get started. :) Because this week we're moving on to help you with that meal-planning you did last week.
Quick recap: Last week I had you put together a shopping list of things you use in your home for meals. I also gave you a series of tips to make it easier.
Now we're going to get started on making that meal plan you have more healthy. Are you ready? Good! Then let's get started. :)
Get your meal plan and grocery listNow. What do you have for sides with your meals? If you have a lot of pasta or other starchy sides, replace one side per meal with a vegetableNow replace one side per meal with fruitLook at your main dishesFind a way to lessen amounts of butter, fat, salt, or sugar in your main dishesMake these changes on your grocery list for the week
Keep in mind, though; if your family doesn't like the fruits and veggies you pick, they aren't going to eat them. Make sure you get fruits and veggies they like, or they'll go to waste!
Next step; reading ingredient lists.
If you live a busy life, you probably don't have time to cook everything you eat at home. In that case, you need to learn to read ingredient lists for ready-made foods, so you can get the best of them.
Tip#1: Avoid hydrogenated oils. The FDA is going to be phasing out trans fats and making them illegal, but until that's been accomplished, they're still in our food. Anything with hydrogenated in the name is something to be avoided, since it causes heart health issues later if you get too much.
Tip#2: Avoid sneaky sugars. Manufacturers have lots of sneaky ways to get sugar in your food that isn't actually labeled 'sugar.' Fructose, high fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, cane syrup solids - things like that have a way of making it into our food. But they're really sugar, with another name. Imagine how much sugar is one item that has all of those in varying amounts!
Tip #3: If you don't recognize the ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it. I know that's hard nowadays, but it's not a hard-and-fast rule. It's something to strive for.
Tip #4: The longer the ingredient list, the worse it is. The more things it has in it, the less actual food there is. If it reads like a chemical list, do you really want to eat that?
Tip #5: Heard of MSG? Try to avoid it. It makes things taste better ; to some extent. If you've ever tried to savor the taste of a Doritos cool ranch chip, it doesn't taste so good for very long. Whereas real food will continue to taste delicious for much longer. Avoid it, and your taste buds will get more sensitive. Which means you'll be able to taste the goodness in real food, instead of chemicals. :)
Follow these few alone, and your food intake will be better. If you want more, then check out Eat This! Not That! (They really are awesome - did I mention that?)
Oh - and don't forget. Your portions! Heard of portion distortion? Yeah. That's when your portions are far bigger than they need to be. Make a fist. That's about the size of your stomach. Now spread out your fingers. That's how big your stomach is when you're full. Not too big, is it? Keep that in mind when you're eating! Cravings are not hunger. If you are really hungry, anything will do. And you probably won't want cake, or cookies. Steak will probably sound a million times better if you are truly hungry.
And remember; veggies have fewer calories than highly-processed junk. So you can eat more with less caloric impact. You can fill up that stomach without wasting calories on garbage. And then guess what happens? You start losing weight! :D
Good luck, and let me know how it goes. If you're having any issues with implementing your new plan, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you out. :)
If not, head back to the last post and get started. :) Because this week we're moving on to help you with that meal-planning you did last week.
Quick recap: Last week I had you put together a shopping list of things you use in your home for meals. I also gave you a series of tips to make it easier.
Now we're going to get started on making that meal plan you have more healthy. Are you ready? Good! Then let's get started. :)
Get your meal plan and grocery listNow. What do you have for sides with your meals? If you have a lot of pasta or other starchy sides, replace one side per meal with a vegetableNow replace one side per meal with fruitLook at your main dishesFind a way to lessen amounts of butter, fat, salt, or sugar in your main dishesMake these changes on your grocery list for the week
Keep in mind, though; if your family doesn't like the fruits and veggies you pick, they aren't going to eat them. Make sure you get fruits and veggies they like, or they'll go to waste!
Next step; reading ingredient lists.
If you live a busy life, you probably don't have time to cook everything you eat at home. In that case, you need to learn to read ingredient lists for ready-made foods, so you can get the best of them.
Tip#1: Avoid hydrogenated oils. The FDA is going to be phasing out trans fats and making them illegal, but until that's been accomplished, they're still in our food. Anything with hydrogenated in the name is something to be avoided, since it causes heart health issues later if you get too much.
Tip#2: Avoid sneaky sugars. Manufacturers have lots of sneaky ways to get sugar in your food that isn't actually labeled 'sugar.' Fructose, high fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, cane syrup solids - things like that have a way of making it into our food. But they're really sugar, with another name. Imagine how much sugar is one item that has all of those in varying amounts!
Tip #3: If you don't recognize the ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it. I know that's hard nowadays, but it's not a hard-and-fast rule. It's something to strive for.
Tip #4: The longer the ingredient list, the worse it is. The more things it has in it, the less actual food there is. If it reads like a chemical list, do you really want to eat that?
Tip #5: Heard of MSG? Try to avoid it. It makes things taste better ; to some extent. If you've ever tried to savor the taste of a Doritos cool ranch chip, it doesn't taste so good for very long. Whereas real food will continue to taste delicious for much longer. Avoid it, and your taste buds will get more sensitive. Which means you'll be able to taste the goodness in real food, instead of chemicals. :)
Follow these few alone, and your food intake will be better. If you want more, then check out Eat This! Not That! (They really are awesome - did I mention that?)
Oh - and don't forget. Your portions! Heard of portion distortion? Yeah. That's when your portions are far bigger than they need to be. Make a fist. That's about the size of your stomach. Now spread out your fingers. That's how big your stomach is when you're full. Not too big, is it? Keep that in mind when you're eating! Cravings are not hunger. If you are really hungry, anything will do. And you probably won't want cake, or cookies. Steak will probably sound a million times better if you are truly hungry.
And remember; veggies have fewer calories than highly-processed junk. So you can eat more with less caloric impact. You can fill up that stomach without wasting calories on garbage. And then guess what happens? You start losing weight! :D
Good luck, and let me know how it goes. If you're having any issues with implementing your new plan, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you out. :)
No comments have been added yet.
