Healthy Eating Tips

 

You don’t need a degree in nutrition to ensure that you get a well-balanced diet that provides the daily nutrients you need – simply focus on six basic food groups:

Whole Grains: Whole grains include whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grain barley and millet. Avoid food with refined grains including many breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals.

Vegetables:  Go for the brights: the deeper the color, the greater the concentration of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Dark green and orange vegetables, from broccoli, kale and mustard greens to butternut squash and sweet potatoes, are several excellent choices.

 Fruits: Enjoy fruits in a number of ways: fresh, canned, frozen, dried, whole, cut-up, or pureed.  Fruit juices can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar per cup; avoid or dilute with water

Milk and other dairy: Choose low-fat dairy products. It is important to choose dairy products that DO NOT contain rBST (bovine growth hormone). Organic dairy is best.  If you're lactose-intolerant, choose lactose-free and lower-lactose products, such as hard cheeses and yogurt. 

Protein:  Vary your healthy eating protein choices with a variety of fish, poultry, eggs, beans, peas, nuts and seeds. Minimize red meats containing high levels of saturated fat.

Oils: We’ve been taught to fear fats and oils, but fresh, high quality fats from olive oil, avocado, raw nuts & seeds, coconut and fish actually provide excellent (and necessary) sources of healthy fatty acids in your diet.

 

· There are 3,500 calories in one pound of body fat

                 -To lose one pound a week (7 days)  you need to burn 500 more calories a day than you take in.

                

· If you are cutting back on calories remember this when it comes to carbohydrates, proteins and fats

                 - There are 9 calories in one gram of fat

                 - There are 4 calories in one gram of carbohydrates

                 - There are 4 calories in one gram of protein

        So if you are trying to avoid excess calories and are on a no carbohydrate diet, one gram of fat has over double the amount of calories as protein or carbohydrates. A little food for thought. Sorry, no nutrition information available for “food for thought”.

 

U Gotta Eat Often:

Eating five to six small, healthy meals throughout the day, rather than the standard three large meals, can help keep your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.