Planning Ahead To Eat Right
One of the best habits you can develop to help improve the nutritional value of your diet is to plan ahead. Whether you want to lose weight, maintain your current healthy weight, or even just avoid a vitamin deficiency, you have to do a little work ahead of time to be sure everything falls into place by the end of an average day. Otherwise, you may discover a few extra grams of fat or a few hundred extra calories have found their way into your system by the end of the day, and maybe not enough calcium or vitamin C.
What are some easy ways to plan ahead? First of all, the food guide pyramid was invented for that specific reason! It’s a simple way to help assure you take in enough of the nutrients you need, not too much of those that aren’t good for you in large amounts (like fat, sodium, and calories), and a balance to keep you on target. The site also has a “my pyramid tracker” download so you can keep a simple log of what you eat each day. So check out the food guide pyramid when you’re ready to begin.
For a consistently healthy diet, find a way to keep track of the number of servings you have each day from each food group. Some of us can do this in our head; others use a little “cheat sheet” whether it’s an online food record from one of many websites or the margin of our appointment book. Have a healthy goal in mind that’s just a little better than the way you eat right now. Perhaps begin with two servings each day of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
On the flip side of the coin, you may try limiting “treats” to one or two a day. Many people treat themselves all day long with high-fat coffee drinks, sodas, muffins, scones, candy bars, pies, and ice cream. What if you knew at the beginning of the day you could choose two treats? Maybe you could skip the first few options and save the opportunity for late afternoon and early evening. Eventually, especially if you want to lose weight, these high-calorie, fat-laden sweet treats should work themselves into the “occasional” category of your diet and you won’t even have one every day.
Before your “I want to lose weight in 2010″ resolution is just another memory, come up with a solid and easy-to-follow plan:
- Figure out what “eating healthy” or “eating better” means for you
- Come up with a system that helps you track how well you’re following your plan
- Focus on eating more of the healthy foods that provide your body with vitamin, minerals, and fiber
- Limit your treats to a reasonable number each day (or each week if you’re already limiting them daily)
Let us know if you have a great idea that works for you. Anything that’s fun usually keeps people going longer: think games, rewards, stickers, and contests!
photo credit: David Boyle in DC
Written by Laurie Beebe
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About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a Related posts:
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