Healthy Eating Plan
Your provider will help to set a daily calorie goal to lose weight. Calories are just an estimate, and it is NOT as simple as calories in calories out. The types of food you eat matters.
Self-monitoring: Proven to be key to success! Keep a food and activity log. Make sure to pay attention to portion size. Apps include MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, and SparkPeople. Weigh yourself once a week, when you first wake up. Consider a wellness band to keep track of steps and movement.
Making Food at Home: Restaurants sneak lots of extra fat, sugar, and salt in their food to make it taste better and usually serve large portions. Try to limit the number of meals you eat at restaurants. Pre-pack lunches for the week, make larger dinner portions so you have leftovers, look up new recipes so you can eat the foods you like. When you do eat out, try to stick to the plan or look up calories before you go. Try putting half the restaurant food in a box before you even start eating.
Meal Replacements: Replacing 1-2 meals per day with a protein bar or shake can be a great way to control calories and get in your protein. They are great to keep in your desk or purse or bring on trips so you know you have a healthy option available.
Water: 85oz per day. If you don’t drink enough water your body might think it is hunger sometimes, when really it is just thirst. AVOID ALL SWEET DRINKS! This includes sweetened coffee/ tea, sports drinks, juices and sodas. If you don’t like plain water, try adding a slice of lemon or other fruit, or try sparkling water.
Alcohol: Alcohol not only has calories but tends to bring along friends – more drinks and more food! Limiting alcohol to 1-2 drinks a week when you are trying to get healthy and lose weight is ideal. Avoid sugary cocktails or heavy beers.
Protein: 3-4 small portions a day. This can include meat but also vegetable sources. Keep in mind most protein will also bring fat, or carbohydrates with it.
Carbohydrates: Our body’s favorite fuel! Unfortunately, they are also the food most of us eat too much of! These are found in starchy foods like pasta, cereal, bread, potatoes, rice, and of course-sweets. They are also in whole grains like whole wheat bread, brown rice, and whole grain cereals. Starchy carbs cause insulin spikes which contribute to our body holding on to weight and also contribute to developing diabetes. We need to cut down our carbohydrate servings to 3-4 a day of SMALL portions, but the more you can cut the better! Whole grains are better choices because they have more ber and nutrients and don’t raise blood sugar as much.
Fiber: Technically carbohydrates, but ber does not raise your blood sugar much. Found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol. Insoluble fiber helps keep your colon “regular”. (Men<50= 38g; Men >50= 35g; Women <50= 25g; Women >50= 21g). If you follow this healthy diet guide, you should get plenty of fiber.
Vegetables: 25 calories for 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. Try a variety of colors! Goal is 5 servings a day. Help you feel full and great source of ber, vitamins, and minerals. Technically carbohydrates. (Potatoes and corn don’t count towards your veggies- these count as carbs).
Fruits: 1-2 servings per day. Try a variety of colors! FRUIT JUICE DOESN’T COUNT, but frozen fruits (and vegetables) are easy to prepare, budget friendly, and equally nutritious. ¼ cup dried fruit = a serving of fruit but should not be a rst choice. Fruit also has important vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. Fruits, while often part of a healthy diet, are still carbs.
Fat and oil: Healthier fats are MUFAs and PUFAs (mono and poly unsaturated fats) and can be found in olive oil, olives, nuts, and avocados. These are considered healthier than saturated fats, which are in processed food and animal products. Fats help you feel full, but they have more calories so pay close attention to portion size. DON’T FEAR FAT!
Sodium: should be less than 2300 mg. Most salt comes from packaged food, not the salt you add with cooking. If you have hypertension, kidney disease, or other risk factors you should limit salt intake to less than 1500 mg per day.
Sleep: Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night to help your metabolism. When you are tired you crave carbs and eat more. If you are having issues getting enough sleep, please let us know so we can help you with this.