:: Healthy Eating Habits & Info

What’s in a Serving? A serving of the following shows the equivalent of the food listed below as examples:

• Grains
  • 1 cup of breakfast cereal
  • 1 slice of bread
  • ½ a cup of cooked rice
  • ½ a cup of cooked pasta
• Fruit
  • 1 medium apple, banana, orange or pear
  • ½ a cup of chopped/cooked/canned fruit
  • ¾ cup of fruit juice
• Vegetables
  • 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
  • ½ a cup other vegetables (cooked or raw)
  • ¾ a cup of vegetable juice
• Dairy
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of yogurt
  • 1 ½ oz. of natural cheese
• Meat/Eggs/Beans/Nuts
  • 2-3 oz. of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish
  • 1 oz. of lean meat, poultry or fish is equal to:
    • ½ a cup of cooked beans
    • ½ a cup of tofu
    • 1 egg
    • 2 tbsp of a nut butter
    • 1/3 cup of nuts
• Alcohol
• 5 fl. Oz. of wine
• 12 fl. Oz. of beer
• 1 ½ fl. Oz of spirits

Dietary Fiber

• The recommended daily intake of fiber for both men and women: 25-35g/day
• EASY WAYS TO INCREASE FIBER INTAKE:
  • Choose whole wheat, oat or rye breads. Look for the first ingredient on the nutrition labels to read “whole”. And use these as substitutions instead of the white.
    
  • Eat more dried beans, peas, and lentils.
  • Eat a minimum of 3 servings of vegetables a day
  • Eat a small amount of dried fruit as a snack or on top of cereals and desserts.

Understanding your Relationship with Food
We often eat out of habit or to satisfy emotional needs rather than satisfying our hunger demands. Certain people, places, moods, smells, and situations can also prompt us to eat. Keeping a FOOD DIARY will help to identify external cues and eating habits and patterns that we are unaware of. I suggest keeping a record of all foods and beverages consumed for a period of 2 weeks. Once the triggers have been identified, strategies can be developed to avoid or change the behaviors. By planning ahead and eating smaller portions, these habits can be transformed into a healthier eating lifestyle.

Trimming the Fat
Fat provides twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrate, which is why the most effective way of reducing calories is to limit the amount of fat consumed.

• Start with low-fat ingredients such as: white fish, shellfish, chicken, and lean meat.
• Trim off visible fat from meat before cooking and remove skin from poultry.
• Choose low-fat cooking techniques such as: steam, boil, stir-fry, braise, and poach.
• Invest in a heavy bottom non-stick pan. Remember that oil expands as it heats so you don’t need to add as much as you think, use olive oil when necessary or spray bottles to decrease the amount used.
• Use plenty of fresh herbs and spices. Trimming fat and boosting flavor will satisfy the palate more effectively.
• Add more vegetables to bulk out savory dishes.
• To make gravies and sauces creamy, add yogurt or ricotta cheese rather than cream, stir in at the end of cooking to prevent curdling.
• Using cheese with more pungent flavors such as Sharp Cheddar, Parmesan, or Bleu Cheese will mean that you’ll have to add less.

Tips for Transforming Eating Habits for a Lifetime

1. Recognize why you may over-eat. Ask yourself if you are really hungry before choosing to do so. Keep a food-diary to identify eating patterns.
2. Believe you can do it. Visualize the you that you desire, be realistic.
3. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. The brain takes 15 minutes to get the message that your stomach is satisfied.
4. NEVER skip meals or go over-hungry. Aim to eat 3 small meals per day with 2-3 healthy snacks throughout the day.
5. ALWAYS eat breakfast. If you skip, you will more likely over eat at lunch or choose unhealthy snack to satisfy your hunger in the late morning.
6. Get fruity. They’re low in calories and normally fat-free.
7. Fill up with FIBER. Fiber is quite filling and regulates blood sugar levels.
8. Don’t feel that 1 or 2 days will ruin your success. Life is full of ups and downs, it’s just normal.
9. Never go shopping hungry.
10. Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. It is very easy to confuse cravings and hunger with thirst.
11. STAY ACTIVE. Use the stairs, park further from your destination. Join a gym, it will hold you accountable. Find a large mall for walking more. You never know the sales you may find!