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Change Your Lifestyle, Not Just Your Diet
When it comes to weight loss, quick fixes are naturally more attractive than long term strategies. Diets that promise immediate results and don’t require too much effort enjoy the highest popularity. The word “diet” itself suggests an only “temporary” break from one’s regular lifestyle. There is the implicit assumption that dieting will end as soon as the intended goals (i.e. weight loss, lower blood pressure, etc.) are accomplished. Dieting may be hard, but at least it’s not permanent. It is needless to say that this kind of attitude makes relapsing into old habits almost inevitable.
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USDA Guidelines to Healthy Eating
What is a healthy diet? According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a healthy diet as one that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. It also includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. It is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars. The most recent government guidelines, MyPyramid®, try to help individuals to choose wisely from every food group, find balance between food consumption and physical activity, get the highest nutritional value and stay within daily calorie needs.
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Way Too Sweet
The Dietary Guidelines of the U.S. government list sugar and artificial sweeteners among foods and food components we are urged to reduce in our diets. While natural sugar sources, like fruits (fructose) and milk (lactose), are recommended for their nutritional benefits, the so-called “added sugars” are not. Adding sugar to processed foods increases their calorie content without providing any significant nutrients, which is the reason why they’re called “empty calories.” In fact, added sugars contribute an average of 16 percent of total calories to the typical American diet.
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Portion Sizes Anyone Can Understand
Determining portion sizes can be tricky. How big is a medium-size potato? What’s an average bagel? How much pasta fits in a cup? There are easier ways to get portion sizes right than trying to decipher the meaning of servings printed on nutrition labels.
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Supermarket Savvy
In some ways, today’s consumers are better informed than ever than ever. Foods from all over the world are widely available, constantly broadening our culinary horizons. Yet we are facing more nutrition-related problems than ever before. In the “communication age,” we find ourselves constantly bombarded with bad news. We feel increasingly uncertain about what is good for our bodies. Almost daily we receive warnings about food contamination, outbreaks of diseases, recalls, revised nutritional recommendations, and so on. As a result, many of us get so confused that they stop paying attention altogether. Here are some tips for making more informed choices when you are grocery shopping.
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Food Label Literacy
Food Manufacturers are required by law to disclose certain information about their products through standardized “Nutrition Facts” panels. They are usually printed on the backside of food containers. Although we see them every day, not everyone would agree that they are easy to understand. Here is some more user-friendly guidance.
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A Pantry Stocked for Healthy Eating
A well-stocked pantry is an important part of any functioning kitchen. Having the right staples available allows you to be more creative and more flexible with your meal plans. Learning what to stock up on and what to keep out of your pantry is a good start for healthy home cooking.
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Tips for Leaner Cooking Techniques
Applying leaner cooking styles by cutting back on unnecessary calories and fat is a skill worth learning. The nutritional value of the best ingredients can be offset by careless cooking habits. Knowing about alternative cooking methods and healthier ingredients can make a real difference. Here are some useful ideas for leaner cooking techniques that don’t take away from quality and taste.
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Recipes Modified
Some say that cooking has become a dying art. People are too pressed for time or don’t have the skills or the facilities to prepare meals at home. On the other hand, there are countless hobby chefs who have discovered the joy of creating tasty meals, sometimes even late in life. It is a fact that if you want to eat healthy, you must know a thing or two about cooking your meals from scratch. Shopping for fresh ingredients and inventing better ways to prepare them can be a lot of fun, and it certainly has its benefits.
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Eating Lighter – Eating Smarter
Whether your goal is to lose weight, recover from an illness or just to feel more fit and energetic, eating nutritious foods and preparing them with smart cooking techniques is always important. There are, of course, many diets and fitness programs you can follow. But for weight loss, the kind of diet you choose is not the only issue. What matters more is that you take control of your daily calorie intake. The approach I favor is called “Eating Lighter, Eating Smarter.” In my opinion, this is a far better way to manage your weight and improve your overall physical well-being than any of the so-called “crash diets” can offer.
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A Restaurant Guide For Healthy Eating
When people try to eat health-consciously or are worried about their weight, it can be challenging to make the right choices when eating out in a restaurant. Although many eateries try their best to accomodate the dietary needs of their patrons, it can still be hard to stick to your guns once you’re handed the menu. Some restaurants offer detailed information about their ingrediences and cooking techniques, others don’t. The restaurant lingo may match the chef’s exciting creations, but it can also be confusing or outright unintelligible. More often than not you are left guessing what to order, what to omit and what to enjoy only in small portions or on the side. There is lots to think about. On the other hand, you also don’t want to spoil your fun.
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Understanding “Restaurant Lingo”
Many restaurants, especially the upscale kind, pride themselves in having elaborate menus filled with detailed descriptions of the meals they offer. The wording can be straight forward or it can be baroque. In any case, “restaurant lingo” is not always easy to decipher. There is no unified language to describe the chef’s creations, but a few terms are commonly used in reference to both ingredients and cooking techniques. Understanding these will help you identify the better choices (and avoid the less desirable ones). Here are some tips to let you get around the pitfalls.
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Why You Need a Dining Out Strategy
Understanding some basic facts about restaurant food and restaurant cooking can help you escape disaster wherever you eat. First, consider your appetite before you get to the restaurant. If this is not your first visit, you are already better prepared. Stick to your preferences. Read the menu carefully and examine all ingredients and cooking methods. Inquire about the possibilities of healthful modifications. Patronize restaurants that are willing to cooperate with you and request wait staff that is responsive.
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Controlling Hunger
All of us respond differently to hunger. Some react to the slightest twinge, others wait until they are nearly starved. Filling up whenever you can eat is not a good idea. It tells your body to increase consumption. Ignoring hunger signals for too long, on the other hand, will lower your energy level to the point where the need for food may lead to uncontrolled bingeing.
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Special Occasions
Events and special occasions can easily turn into major setbacks for any weight management- or fitness program. Holidays, vacations, reunions, parties and weddings – the list of opportunities is endless. Even in exceptional situations, you should never pull out all the stops. You can avoid some of the hors d’oeuvres and desserts, watch your portions, stick to your preferences and resist the urge for second helpings. You may also think about throwing in some extra time for exercise over the next three days to get back on track. Having said that, you should not ever consider food as “the enemy”! Note that nothing is forbidden but everything counts.
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