Wednesday, September 17, 2008

September to December Eating Plan


What's needed daily to get and maintain a healthy body inside and out:

Grains, Vegetables, Fruits, Milk, Meat, and Beans!
Make half your grains whole. Vary your veggies. Focus on fruits. Get your calcium-rich foods. Go lean with protein.

Breakfast

Breakfast is considered an important meal because it breaks the overnight fasting period, replenishes your supply of glucose and provides other essential nutrients to keep your energy levels up throughout the day.

Whats needed to have a healthy well balanced breakfast to start your day off right!:( and here's why) ALONE just eating what your SUPPOSED to and what your body NEEDS will help you loose weight bc your body will be working with what it needs! like:

Calcium/milk-Consuming milk and milk products provides health benefits—people who have a diet rich in milk and milk products can reduce the risk of low bone mass throughout the life cycle. Foods in the milk group provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein.

Whole grains-Eating grains, especially whole grains, provides health benefits. People who eat whole grains as part of a healthy diet have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Grains provide many nutrients that are vital for the health and maintenance of our bodies.

Fruits-Eating fruit provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Protein-Foods in the meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and seed group provide nutrients that are vital for health and maintenance of your body. However, choosing foods from this group that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol may have health implications.

So for breakfast:
  • NO COFFEE!! tea.. is what you will be drinking, you will still get your energy and caffeine but in a MUCH healthier way!
  • WATER!! drink AT LEAST 2 glasses or bottles of water from when you wake up until 9am!
  • Whole grain cereal(grains) with milk(calcium) and fruit.
  • Whole wheat bread or wrap with egg whites(protein)
  • Yogurt with fruit
  • Whole Wheat pancakes with fruit
***if you are not having cereal always aim to have a glass of milk with your meals..

LUNCH

For lunch you need to have MEATS and GRAINS:

Why Meats?:
-Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, nuts,
and seeds supply many nutrients. These include protein, B vitamins (niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium.
-Proteins function as building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. Proteins are one of three nutrients that provide calories (the others are fat and carbohydrates).
-B vitamins found in this food group serve a variety of functions in the body. They help the body release energy, play a vital role in the function of the nervous system, aid in the formation of red blood cells, and help build tissues.
-Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that helps protect vitamin A and essential fatty acids from cell oxidation.
-Iron is used to carry oxygen in the blood. Many teenage girls and women in their child-bearing years have iron-deficiency anemia. They should eat foods high in heme-iron (meats) or eat other non-heme iron containing foods along with a food rich in vitamin C, which can improve absorption of non-heme iron.
-Magnesium is used in building bones and in releasing energy from muscles.
# Zinc is necessary for biochemical reactions and helps the immune system function properly.

Why Grains?

Health benefits

* Consuming foods rich in fiber, such as whole grains, as part of a healthy diet, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease.
* Consuming foods rich in fiber, such as whole grains, as part of a healthy diet, may reduce constipation.
* Eating at least 3 ounce equivalents a day of whole grains may help with weight management.
* Eating grains fortified with foliate before and during pregnancy helps prevent neural tube defects during fetal development.

Nutrients
Food sources of the nutrients in bold can be found in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

* Grains are important sources of many nutrients, including dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and foliate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium).
* Dietary fiber from whole grains, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as whole grains help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. Whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber; most refined (processed) grains contain little fiber.
* B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate)play a key role in metabolism – they help the body release energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates. B vitamins are also essential for a healthy nervous system. Many refined grains are enriched with these B vitamins.
* Folate (folic acid), another B vitamin, helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and those in the first trimester of pregnancy should consume adequate folate, including folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
* Iron is used to carry oxygen in the blood. Many teenage girls and women in their childbearing years have iron-deficiency anemia. They should eat foods high in heme-iron (meats) or eat other iron containing foods along with foods rich in vitamin C, which can improve absorption of non-heme iron. Whole and enriched refined grain products are major sources of non-heme iron in American diets.
* Whole grains are sources of magnesium and selenium. Magnesium is a mineral used in building bones and releasing energy from muscles. Selenium protects cells from oxidation. It is also important for a healthy immune system.

So for Lunch:
  • Turkey sandwich on whole wheat wrap or bread
  • Ham sandwich on whole wheat wrap or bread
  • tuna sandwich on whole wheat wrap or bread
  • grilled chicken on whole wheat wrap or bread
  • grilled chicken w vegis
  • salad with grilled chicken
  • salad with tuna
snack with lunch

-fruit
-whole wheat pretzels
-popcorn

***at least 2-3 glasses of water from 9am-1pm

DINNER!

AGAIN: meats!!

AND Vegis are both needed for a healthy and nutritious diner!:

Eating vegetables provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

Health benefits

* Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases.
* Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for type 2 diabetes.
* Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain cancers, such as mouth, stomach, and colon-rectum cancer.
* Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
* Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and may help to decrease bone loss.
* Eating foods such as vegetables that are low in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

Nutrients
Food sources of the nutrients in bold can be found in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

* Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, or cholesterol.)
* Potassium rich nutrients Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C.
* Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, winter squash, spinach, lentils, kidney beans, and split peas.
* Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
* Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and those in the first trimester of pregnancy should consume adequate folate, including folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
* Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
* Vitamin E helps protect vitamin A and essential fatty acids from cell oxidation.
* Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption.

SO FOR DINER:
  • grilled chicken w/ vegis
  • LEAN steak with vegis
  • turkey burger w NO bun and lettuce as a bun
****From 1pm until 6pm(diner time) you should have AT LEAST another 3-4 glasses or bottles of water!

AND MOST IMPORTANT!!!

Physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses energy. Walking, gardening, briskly pushing a baby stroller, climbing the stairs, playing soccer, or dancing the night away are all good examples of being active. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous and add up to at least 30 minutes a day.

Moderate physical activities include:

* Walking briskly (about 3 ½ miles per hour)
* Hiking
* Gardening/yard work
* Dancing
* Golf (walking and carrying clubs)
* Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)
* Weight training (general light workout)

Vigorous physical activities include:

* Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)
* Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)
* Swimming (freestyle laps)
* Aerobics
* Walking very fast (4 ½ miles per hour)
* Heavy yard work, such as chopping wood
* Weight lifting (vigorous effort)
* Basketball (competitive)

Some physical activities are not intense enough to help you meet the recommendations. Although you are moving, these activities do not increase your heart rate, so you should not count these towards the 30 or more minutes a day that you should strive for. These include walking at a casual pace, such as while grocery shopping, and doing light household chores.

AT LEAST 3-4 times a week we will go for a brisk walk/jog!!to START off!

NO ALCOHOL!!! OR COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!EVER!!

4 comments:

long island girl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sukku said...

Well it sounds simple but I guess there is more to it then one expects especially if you are not disciplined. For me I am going start cutting down of fried food first for a start.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

This is a veritable blueprint for a healthy body. The approach is holistic. Thanks for the valuable information. God bless you always.

Anonymous said...

Nice blog with useful info here.