What does your average meal look like? What are the contents of your breakfast, lunch, dinner and the snacks you usually consume?
It is a wonderful and powerful exercise to keep track of what you are actually eating for one week. When you are keeping account of your food intake also remember to write down not only what you are eating but also when you are eating. This will give you some insight about your current food demands.
An additional suggestion in creating an improved food program is to include how you were feeling when you were eating. This little trick will illuminate possible emotional eating as opposed to eating due to hunger. Understanding the reason you are eating is a first step to correcting damaging behavior. If you are currently eating fried foods; eliminate them from your diet to cut as much wasted fat and wasted calories as possible. Your body only requires small ammounts of protein so be cautious with the number of ounces of protein you allow yourself per day in the form of meat, chicken and fish. Keep eggs to about three a week. Ask your doctor for specific advice for your body's needs. Look at the amount of dairy you are consuming and try to use skim milk and low fat cheeses in your diet, rather than fat laden dairy products. Grains are a great source of fiber and vitamins and you should incorporate the proper amount daily into your diet. Use the United States Food and Drug Administration Pyramid chart to decide on the amount from each food group which will best serve the needs of your mind and body.
The pyramid suggests six to eleven servings of bread, two to four servings of fruit, three to five servings of vegetables, two to three servings of meat, two to three servings of milk, and fats and sweets to be used sparingly.
Author and physician Dr. Andrew Weil suggests specific foods and additives in his book, Eight Weeks To Optimum Health, which I strongly recommend. I am including several of his ideas for your convenience.
Coffee irritates the stomach. Give it up or replace it with cancer fighting gree tea. It has caffeine in it so you will be able to awaken as with the coffee. What I have done is limit myself to one cup of coffee and one cup of green tea and that seems to be the best I am able to do for the moment. I will however continue to try to eliminate that one cup of coffee completely. My prior coffee intake had been as high as five cups a day, so there is always hope.
Replace your oils with olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, which is much better than polyunsaturated or saturated fat.
Eat forty grams of fiber a day. (Twice the current American average.) It is also a good idea to replace two meat meals a week with a soy product. Soy is currently being tested for its ability to fight heart disease and cancer, as well as to protect bone density and minimize hot flashes. This could be an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. I am currently using this coarse of treatment and waiting for the final results on the overall benefits of soy.
Another suggestion to improve your health is to replace two days of meat eating with fish.
Adding garlic to your diet is a good idea. It seems to be wonderful for the cardiovascular system, for its anti cancer work, for its antibiotic attributes, its ability to lower blood pressure and cholesterol and for stimulating the immune system.
The American Cancer Society suggests that we use meat as a side dish rather than as the main part of the meal. Have broccoli twice a week and eat it only slightly cooked for optimal benefit. Do the same with cooked greens like collards, kale, chard, beet or mustard greens.
Make fresh ginger a part of your new healthy diet and use it by grating it into your tea or over your foods. It's also wonderful for stomach upsets when boiled in water.
Dr. Weil suggests taking a number of diet supplements of which I'll give a brief synopsis. I strongly suggest that you read his book and talk with your doctor about the optimal dosages right for you. He talks about taking additional vitamin C, vitamin E, Beta Carotene with related compounds Lycopene, Selenium and others.
What time do you stop eating in the evening? Try to stop eating two to three hours before you go to bed and by doing so, you will improve the quality of your food intake and your digestion as well.
I have personally struggled with maintaining my weight for most of my life. It has only been during these past ten years while I have been paying attention to who I am and what is important to me that I have finally found the magic of balance in my life and how that balance impacts my ability to control my weight. Much to my initial surprise, weight management is less about control and more about a natural process of creating equilibrium in the body. I can help create that interior balance by the kind words I choose to give to myself about what is possible for me. I also achieve balance by accepting the present state of my body and mind and understanding the power of that union.
"To the master the pride of defiant selfhood, that in truth is the highest bliss. The sovereign will is found where a man conquers himself, declining to be a prisoner either of himself or of his wordly tasks." -Buddha
This page is an excerpt from Susan George's book, "Life is Short, Don't Blow It". If you want to read more about changing your life, read Susan George's new book, "Life is Short, Don't Blow It".
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