Are You Aware of What You Eat?
Did you know that you can change your life by simply becoming more aware of what you eat, and that you can have fun in the process?
By becoming more aware you can increase your energy level, control your weight and even fend off disease. With a little effort you can use "diet mindfulness" to improve the quality of your life – from mental sharpness to maintaining a healthy weight.
Here are 5 things you can do to wake up and be aware:
1. Scheme and Dream. Every morning take a minute to scheme and dream about how you are going to eat your way through the day. Envision what you have going on, from meetings to lunch with a colleague, and create a mental scheme for how you will get your vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats throughout the day. Day dream about it for a few seconds to bring it to your consciousness.
2. Hunt and Gather. Consciously hunt for whole foods when you get hungry and gather 'em up. It’s as difficult today as it was for our ancestors – it’s just a different jungle out there. There a lot of processed food imposters. Hunt for raw vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, lean protein and whole grains – consider it a treasure hunt. If you go to a lot of meetings where unhealthy foods are served, let the meeting planner know you would appreciate healthier alternatives.
3. Read and Learn. You've heard it before, and I'll say it again, read the label. Take a second to learn about how much food makes up a single serving size, how many calories are in that single serving, how much fat and what kind of fat, and how much sugar. Once you've done this a few times you develop a general awareness of what's in food - the good choices and bad choices. You don't have to read every single label - just check in every now and then when you have doubts or questions about the food you are about to purchase. You will have many pleasant surprises and disappointments, but it will all be for the good.
4. Write and Remember. Whether it’s a phone number, a to-do list, or a date on a calendar – we write things down so we don’t forget them. That’s the reason why you must write down what you eat – because you will forget if you don’t. You won’t know how mindless your eating tendencies are until you become aware from writing it down.
5. Know Your Numbers, the Easy Way. With these general calories counts in mind you can easily get a pretty good idea of how many calories – generally speaking – you are getting in a meal or snack. This can be a helpful way to gauge whether you are getting too little or too much. This is just another easy way to be aware of what you eat.
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50: Almost all vegetables have less than 50 calories per cup with the exception of peas.
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75: Almost all fruits eaten whole like an apple or an orange, or a cup of berries or cherries, have between 75 – 100 calories. Avocados are an exception; avocados are very high calorie so be careful of guacamole.
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100: Low-fat dairy has about 100 – 125 calories per cup.
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150: Three ounces of lean meat - chicken, pork, beef – has about 150 calories per serving. Beware, 3 ounces is about the size of the palm of your hand, not the gargantuan portion sizes served in restaurants.
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200: Rice and pasta (with nothing on it) has about 200 – 250 calories per cooked cup. Again, about the size of your fist, not an entire plate full.
Linda L. Cook, President VitalityCheck, LLC http//:www.vitalitycheck.biz
Linda L. Cook is the creator of a 3-in-1 daily journal (a food diary, exercise log and sleep journal) in the compact size of a checkbook. It is designed for tracking diet, exercise, sleep, supplements taken and mood plus much more. VitalityCheck® can be used in employee wellness programs, weight loss clinics, special events and tradeshows. Both imprinting and customization solutions are available.
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