Abundant Life - Healthy Living Series

What do I need to do to lose weight???

This is a question that I personally get asked a lot. Learning to change your eating habits is a journey that begins with writing down what you are eating everyday. Then add up the calories. When you do this, most of us will discover that we are eating too many calories per day and over time the extra calories or unused calories get stored into excess fat throughout our body.  For many of us - we are carrying around too much fat for our bone structures and organs to carry. These extra pounds puts an enormous strain on our bodies and increases our risk for developing such conditions as high blood pressure, heart attack and diabetes just to name a few.

We should be eating a well balanced diet high in fiber, vegetables and low in saturated fat. But learning about what to eat takes work. I can not do it for you, you have to care enough about yourself to learn what you need to be eating to get healthy. This knowledge will empower you as you make choices everyday about what to eat. By visiting http://www.mypyramid.gov/ you will find what you need to get started on your path to a healthier you.

As you can see from this plate, 1/2 of the plate should be full of fruits and vegetables, 1/4 full of grains and only 1/4 of protein. So, one good way to eyeball a healthy plate is to cut it into fourths and eat accordingly. By the way,  this is a nine inch plate though not the 16 inch plate we Americans are used to eating from. Below are 10 tips to help you get started this week. Over the next few weeks we will be discussing this topic in more detail. I am also attaching a daily log that I created to help you track your daily intake. Remember that 3500 calories equals one pound. If you reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, you will begin to see a change in the scales by the end of a week or two.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet1ChooseMyPlate.pdf

Daily Log

Breakfast:

Food eaten	Grain	Vegetable	Fruit	Dairy	Meat & Beans	Calories

Lunch:

Food eaten	Grain	Vegetable	Fruit	Dairy	Meat & Beans	Calories

Dinner:

Food eaten	Grain	Vegetable	Fruit	Dairy	Meat & Beans	Calories

Snacks:

Food eaten	Grain	Vegetable	Fruit	Dairy	Meat & Beans	Calories

Water and beverages: (check off a block for each 8 ounces consumed)

Daily needed amounts- did I meet my goals?

Grains              Yes      No

Fruits               Yes      No

Vegetables      Yes      No

Dairy               Yes      No

Meats              Yes      No

Calories           Yes      No

Did you exercise today?

Type:   __________________________________________________________________

Length of Tome:         ______________________________________________________

Calories burned:          ______________________________________________________

Total calories eaten:    ______________________________________________________

Caloric goal:    ____________________________________________________________

Have a blessed week!!!

In Christ

Rhonda