⦁ STOP Skipping Breakfast, ADD IT! Breakfast provides your body with the fuel it needs to get your day started, it helps you stay focused and gives you energy. ⦁ Steel cut oatmeal with 1 tbsp. almond butter, 1 banana and 6oz. Kefir ⦁ Whole wheat English muffin with ½ cup of egg whites scrambled with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and green onions, add 1/3 avocado to the sandwich. 8oz. SUJA Power Greens (cucumber, celery, grapefruit, etc.) OR 4oz. of Green Goddess from NAKED juice (less amount because more fruit in it, but a good shot of vegetables) ⦁ Low fat cottage cheese and 1 cup of berries, and ½ cup of high fiber cereal. ⦁ CUT back on ADDED SUGARS! ⦁ Replace carbonated sugared beverages with flavored sparkling waters! Avoid the “DIET” versions unless they are using Stevia. Even so, colas tend to have phosphates added, avoid these when you can ⦁ Try to keep the grams of ADDED sugar down to 6 grams or less per serving World Health Organization no more than 10% of total calories/day THIS REPRESENTS ADDED SUGARS, NOT FRUIT OR NATURALLY OCCURRING SUGARS IN NATURAL FOODS. Keep in mind 1 tsp of sugar = 4 grams of sugar
The American Heart Association recommends: -9 tsp of sugar /day for Males or 36grams -6 tsp of sugar/day for Females or 24grams -5-8tsp. of sugar/day for Teens or 20-32 grams -3-4 tsp./day for 4-12 year olds or 12-16grams -4tsp/day for Preschoolers 16grams/day
⦁ CUT Back on Animal Derived Proteins and COMMIT to Meatless Meals Shoot for 3 per week at least! ⦁ Use beans, seitan, tempeh, or soy in place of lean proteins. Choose high protein pastas like; Barilla Protein Plus, Edamame pasta, lentil or black bean pasta ⦁ Look at Vegan and Vegetarian recipes to get ideas; try Vegweb.com ⦁ ADD MORE PLANT FOODS in your LIFE. MAKE THEM ALL ORGANIC! ⦁ Shoot for 4-5 vegetable servings per day. No denying the health benefits from fruits and vegetables, decrease risk in chronic disease (obesity, cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, GI tract diseases, etc.!). I bet you lose some weight doing this IF you are consistent! ⦁ 1 serving of vegetables= ⦁ 2 cups of greens raw (spinach, lettuce, romaine, arugula and kale) ⦁ 1 cup raw vegetables chopped ⦁ ½ cup of cooked ⦁ 8oz. of pure vegetable juice ⦁ 3-5 Fruits per day (dependent on your activity/exercise and size) ⦁ 1 serving of fruit = tennis ball size OR 1 cup of chopped fruit OR ¼ cup of dried fruit OR 4oz juice OR ½ cup of cooked/canned in own juice fruit
⦁ CUT BACK on Eating Out and ADD Healthy Convenient Meals at Home ⦁ Cut back on eating out by ½ if you don’t have to for work ⦁ Lunch ideas: Stock up on the weekend for the week. Bake up chicken breasts and steam up some rice and quinoa. Roast or steam up some vegetables and place in some to go containers. Toss this combination on a bed of lettuce, spinach and baby kale. Use 1 tbsp. of dressing. Turn one of the dishes into a more Mexican style by adding a corn tortilla, add ½ cup of black beans, salsa and avocado. ⦁ Easy dinner ideas at home: ⦁ Prep ahead, roast a whole chicken so you can make tacos, wraps, or whole wheat pasta dish with some chicken in it. ⦁ Buy pre-cut, bagged organic vegetables or organic frozen vegetables (without sauce)for meals ⦁ Use easy to prepare grains, a good example is the Seeds of Change line of grains, or frozen brown rice, you just need to throw in the microwave ⦁ Cook lean proteins like wild caught fish, or Grass fed beef on top of the stove.
⦁ CUT back on Unhealthy Snacking, ADD Healthy Snacks! ⦁ Timing is important, snack between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner so you aren’t starving at your meals. Make them 1/3 of your typical Try to choose a vegetable at all snacks or a fruit, OR BOTH! ⦁ Choose vegetables most of the time, dip in hummus , tzatziki or salsa ⦁ Nuts, keep it at ¼ -1/2 cup per day tops Vary the type, unsalted organic ⦁ Avocados, olives, nut butters, nuts, and seeds all healthy plant derived fats to choose on a daily basis. Remember they are healthy but have the same amount of calories as unhealthy fats. 9kcals/gram ⦁ Set Goals and Track Your Progress! ⦁ Set some easy goals for you to achieve and do it 1 habit at a time. Habits take time to change, don’t expect perfection right away. The fact you are making an effort means you are ready to make a change. ⦁ Place your goals in an easy place to see them daily so you can work on them one day at a time ⦁ Journal daily if you achieved your goal that day and how you felt. Read back weekly on your journal. Note how you felt when you achieved them and how you felt when you didn’t. Physically reading your emotions makes more of an impact on how you behave moving forward.