| Plan
to Eat Healthy Foods and Healthy Serving Sizes:
The US government has provided us with a healthy "food pyramid."
This plan works! So don't be afraid to use it. It's simple, too.
If you are an adult, each day you should have the following allotment:
- Fats, Oils and Sweets - use sparingly.
- Milk, Yogurt, Cheese - 2 to 3 servings.
- Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Nuts, Eggs - 2 to 3 servings.
- Vegetables - 3 to 5 servings.
- Fruits - 2 to 3 servings.
- Grains, Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta - 6 to 11 servings.
6 to 11 servings is a wide range. The amount of servings you
need per day will be based on your daily activity and special
needs:
A breast-feeding mother will need the highest amounts - 3 servings
of milk and cheese, 3 servings of meat.
A middle aged woman who has a desk job will probably need the
lower servings suggested - 6 servings of the grain/bread group,
2 servings of meat.
6 servings of grains may seem like a lot of food - but - you
must be careful on the serving size. A pasta meal at a restaurant
may equal 6 servings of pasta. Watching the amount of food is
as important as the kinds of food. Serving sizes follow:
- milk group - - 1 cup 2%, 1 cup yogurt, 1 1/2 oz of cheese
- meat group -- 2-3 oz. of meat, 1/2 cup cooked dry beans,
- vegetable group -- 1/2 cup of cooked or raw cut up, 1 cup
raw leafy
- fruit group -- medium sized piece of fruit or 1/2 cup cut
up, 3/4 cup of juice
- grain group -- a serving is 1/2 cup of cooked pasta or rice,
1 slice of bread, 1 oz.
dry cereal.
Do not assume that the serving sizes on packaged products are
the same as the above. Use common sense. Be honest with yourself
about serving sizes.
Here is a cool visual chart that makes for great printing. Print
it out and tack it up on your refrigerator! Another great motivator
is tacking up a picture of yourself on the fridge - as you are
now or as you would like to be.
Plan to Exercise:
You don't need to run a marathon every day in order to get exercise.
There are little ways that you can get the exercise you need everyday.
Here are some suggestions - choose at least one of these and do
it
everyday or at least once a week. I guarantee that after a couple
months - if you don't get your exercise, you will MISS it!
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park the farthest away
spot from the store every time you go.
Take a 30 minute walk everyday. (This is the one that I do -
I love my walk, if I don't get my walk, I really feel at a loss
- and I am definitely NOT an exercise fanatic, but I never miss
my walking even on vacation - and I feel GREAT because of it.)
Take an aerobics class or a dance class. (Do you have a partner?
Take ballroom dancing! Not only will you get some exercise, you
will also learn a useful, fun skill.)
Get off the subway or bus stop one stop before where you normally
get off and walk the rest of the way home.
Decide to take up a sport like Tennis, Racquetball, or even join
a Softball team. Check out your community athletic center or the
YMCA for sports that you think you might like to participate in.
Buy a work out video and commit to working out 20 minutes a day.
There are some awesome workout programs for free on the internet.
Here's one at Drop a Dress Size in Six Weeks. (I like the free
ones you can do at home, because if you're like me, you're a clutz
and are mbarrassed to be seen doing any of those exercises in
public!)
The Right Tools:
1. Support Network - In the first part of the plan, we discussed
a support network. This network may be made up of health professionals
or simply a group of family or friends that you can talk to. They
are positive
people that will help you over the rough spots.
2. Healthy Eating Guide - You need to know the right balance
of foods to eat. Use this cool food pyramid.
This pyramid is taken from the US Government Recommended Daily
Allowances. If you join any type of Diet plan, they all have their
individual ways of keeping track of your calories or nutritional
intake, however, they are all similar to the Food Pyramid.
3. Nutritional Counting Device - Make your healthy diet fun!
The NutriCounter can help you keep track of your daily eating
habits, it's a wonderful way to get into a routine and stay healthy.
Learn more about The NutriCounter.
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