EATING IN MODERATION

How many times have you been told to eat in moderation only to walk away having NO IDEA what moderation means!? Is it based on your:

• height and weight?

• health?

• age?

Let’s create some foundational components to create meaning and understanding to the concept “eating in moderation.”

(1) 80%/20% RULE (relaxed moderation) or 90%/10% RULE (strict moderation):

Based on your level of REALITY, you should eat between 80% to 90% HEALTHY and 10% to 20% on choices that satisfy comfort desires. This provides a method that satisfies the body’s physical  NEEDS with the brain’s emotional WANTS. How do we define HEALTHY EATING? These are REAL FOODS with LIMITED or NO PROCESSING involved. Examples of these foods would include:

• beef, chicken, pork, fish,

• vegetables, {including whole potatoes (white and sweet) a couple of times/week}

• fruits

• beans /// grains (such as lentils, black beans, pinto beans, /// quinoa, millet, oats, brown rice, ) There are certain nutrition plans that omit this category as part of a healthy intake. It would require too much space to explain in detail, however, if Celiac Disease or other gastrointestinal disorders are not present, these foods offer nutritional benefits worth consuming.

• dairy including milk (although I’m not a fan of milk), yogurt, eggs,

• seeds, nuts

• water, coffee, tea,

These are REAL FOODS required by the body to meet the nutritional component of GOOD HEALTH. These foods should be HOME PREPARED 80% to 90% of the time.

YOU WILL SEE WHY A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN IN THIS ARTICLE

These foods WILL BE ENJOYED 80% to 90% (or higher) if you are willing to research spices and healthy natural sauces for additional flavoring.

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Who are the 10% – 20% (“THE BAD GUYS”):

• processed sugars

• starchy carbohydrates (ex. white bread, white pasta)

• most fast food products

• most canned, boxed or bagged man made food choices (ex. cereal, soda, potato chips, cold cuts, hotdogs, buns)

• most bakery style dessert products

• most frozen food entrees in grocery stores

 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAKE 80+% MEALS AT HOME?

IHOP Chorizo Fiesta Omelette

Eggs can often be an excellent breakfast choice. But not when you stuff them with chorizo and cheese, top ’em with chili, and accompany them with three pancakes with syrup to boot.

Calories: 1,990
Fat: 121 grams
Saturated fat: 42 grams
Sodium: 4,840 milligrams
Added sugar: 60 grams
How to burn it off: Clean house for eight hours

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit 3 Meat Plate

As if three fatty meats—Polish sausage, pork ribs, and beef brisket—weren’t enough to spell heart attack on a plate, heap on sides of fried onion and mac and cheese, a massive container of sweet tea, and a cone of the free soft-serve ice cream. It all adds up to more than a day’s worth of calories and nearly eight days’ worth of artery-clogging saturated fat.

Calories: 3,816
Fat: 190 grams
Saturated fat: 133 grams
Sodium: 6,834 milligrams
Added sugar: 149 grams
How to burn it off: Run for five hours

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These are just two examples showing the calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugar consumers take in on a regular basis. Remember, the ENTIRE DAY WORTH OF CALORIES should range between 1600 and 2500 on average. Each of these two meals ALONE amounts to 1990 calories and 3816 calories respectively. DAILY SATURATED FAT should range between 17-25 grams. Each of these two meals ALONE is 42 grams and 133 grams respectively. DAILY SODIUM should rage between 1300mg- 2300mg.  Each of these two meals ALONE is 4840mg and 6834mg respectively.  DAILY ADDED SUGAR should not exceed 25 grams (women) – 35 grams (men.) Each of these two meals ALONE is 60 grams and 149 grams respectively.The same type of numbers holds true for pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, fried chicken etc… which consumers eat on a regular basis.

The average person lives a lifestyle so far out of the range of MODERATION, changes can feel intimidating. The key is to implement WEEKLY changes that are built upon (each following week) to gradually align oneself with a REALISTIC plan that achieves the goals outlined in this article.

Achieving MODERATION in lifestyle will transform you in ways you can’t even imagine. Now that MODERATION has MEANING, treat yourself to a learning experience that will improve your health and quality of life!

****Special thanks to HEALTH from Time inc.  for the pictures and nutritional information below the pictures used in this post.****

 

Tags: attitude, disease, emotions, happiness, health, obesity, quality of life, weight loss