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You are what you eat. You have probably been told that your entire life but you might not have actually paid any attention to what it truly means. The calories you consume are meant to provide your body with energy. This energy is what fuels you to be able to think, move and even breathe. Think of your body as a fire that you want to stay consistently burning. You have to provide the correct amount of fuel, like wood, to the fire (not too much, not too little) to keep it going. If you were to feed the fire something that it doesn’t need (like water), then it would quickly fizzle out.
Everybody needs a different amount of fuel to keep their bodies running properly. There is no one-size-fits-all diet. It is all a balancing act.
Healthy Eating Every Day
Healthy Eating is all about finding balance in your daily diet. Make sure that you start small by making changes you can live with and believe that all foods can fit. Focus on increasing fruits and vegetables, decreasing saturated and trans fats, increasing dairy and dairy alternatives, increase whole grains and balance your calories.
Try this website to determine how many calories you should be eating each day.
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
Do you know how many calories you should be eating for your body?
What Really Counts as a Serving?
Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta, Potatoes, and Corn
– 1 slice of bread (size of a CD case) – ½ cup cooked cereal, rice, pasta, or corn – ½ cup mashed potatoes -1 small (4-inch) potato -10 French fries – 1 cup ready to eat cereal – 1/3 to ½ bagel or muffin Fruits & Vegetables – ½ cup chopped raw, cooked, frozen, canned, or cooked fruit or vegetables – 1 medium-sized piece of fruit or melon wedge -1 cup leafy raw vegetables – ¾ cup fruit or vegetable juice – ¼ cup dried fruit Dairy & Dairy Alternatives – 1 cup milk or dairy free milk and yogurt – 1½ ounces natural cheese (such as Cheddar), one ounce – 2 ounces soy or processed cheese Meat & Meat Alternatives – 2½ to 3 ounces (70 to 85 g) of cooked fish, poultry, lean meat – Soy-based meat substitutes that have 18 to 25 grams of protein per serving – The following are equivalent to one ounce of fish, poultry, or meat: * ½ cup cooked beans or tofu * 1 egg * 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1/3 cup nuts * ¼ cup tofu
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Do you eat several servings in your portion sizes?
Portion Sizes
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Will you watch how much you are serving yourself now?
What’s Right for You?
Most women & some older adults | Children,
adolescent girls, active women, most men |
Adolescent boys and active men | |
Caloric level | ~1,600 | ~2,200 | ~2,800 |
Bread group
(servings) |
6 | 9 | 11 |
Fruit & veggies
Group (servings) |
5 | 7 | 9 |
Dairy group
(servings) |
2-3 | 2-3 | 2-3 |
Meat group
(servings) |
2, for a total of 5 oz | 2, for a total of 6 oz | 3, for a total of 7 oz |
Tips
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If you need more tips on nutrition, please e-mail me and I will help you to implement it into your life!