GardenCuizine: Weight Management for a Healthy Lifestyle

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Weight Management for a Healthy Lifestyle

Weight Management

for a

Healthy Lifestyle

Managing your body weight, as some of you know, can be challenging! Especially with today's wide availability of tempting foods that work their way into your mouth, like convenient, high calorie, grab and go foods.

It takes will power and determination to resist salty snack chips, cookies, donuts, candy, chocolates, pizza, burgers, bacon, mayo, sugary drinks, subs, processed meats, cheese, high fat fries and fried chicken. These abundant, nutrient-poor or high-salt, high-sugar, high-fat foods affect the waistlines and arteries of all people (regardless of income and status).

My standard recommendation for everyone is to eat more GardenCuizine! More fruits, more vegetables and whole grains = more dietary fiber, nutrients and a healthier you.

Weight Management recommendations

Make half your plate cooked or raw non-starchy vegetables like: tossed garden salad, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, onion, zucchini, and carrots
Select low fat foods (technically 3 grams or less total fat; 5 grams or less may be more attainable

The best way to tell how much fat, salt, sugar or fiber

is in a food is to read the food label

Select low sodium foods (140mg or less)
Select foods low in sugar (5 grams or less)
Select high fiber foods (5 grams or more per serving)
Don't skip meals!
Eat balanced from all the food groups
Don't forget a daily calcium source (low fat milk, soy milk, yogurt, powdered milk, collard greens, spinach, kale, okra, white beans, calcium fortified OJ...)
Be honest to yourself and with your dietitian
Set and write down realistic goals, then take action!
Keeping a food diary/journal has been shown to help dieters be successful at losing weight