Dietary Guidelines to Enhance a Healthier Lifestyle
5 Dietary Guidelines for a healthier YOU!
Greetings everyone!
So, to continue on from my first blog post regarding emotional eating, these 5 Dietary Guidelines aren't just for emotional eating situations. (Really?) Yes, really! :) You can use them in almost any situation where you feel you would like a good starting foundation with your relationship with food or nutrition and wellness in general. Monitored by the USDA, these guidelines are for generally healthy adults and those 2 years of age and older:
1.) Adequacy- choosing foods that are nutrient-dense (this will help provide nutrients for your body and metabolism)
2.) Balance- maintain a balanced lifestyle and nutrition with moderate physical activity (e.g., sleep, food groups, etc.)
3.) Calorie Control- no brainer! Stay within your calorie allotted for your nutrition goals. Stay hydrated. This can also mean to ensure that you are eating ENOUGH calories so as to not leave your body in survival mode and holding onto essential fats to keep you alive. (this is why fad diets and profound restrictive diet programs do not work!)
4.) Moderation- try to eat from every food group and in moderation (portion sizing- use your palm as a reference- cupped palm=~1 cup; fist face up=~1/2 cup).
5.) Variety- have FUN with this one. So, we discussed hitting all the food groups with emphasis on whole grains and veggies group, but variety can be a great way to explore new techniques and methods of cooking your foods as well as color! (e.g., dark leafy greens, various sources of protein, etc.)
These guidelines and other nutrition information can all be found on government websites and most importantly choosemyplate. Wonderful reference tools to use to help jump-start you to healthy nutrition patterns.
Next blog I will be addressing special dietary restrictions and particularly my health journey as a vegetarian endurance athlete and hard lessons I've learned along the way.
So, to continue on from my first blog post regarding emotional eating, these 5 Dietary Guidelines aren't just for emotional eating situations. (Really?) Yes, really! :) You can use them in almost any situation where you feel you would like a good starting foundation with your relationship with food or nutrition and wellness in general. Monitored by the USDA, these guidelines are for generally healthy adults and those 2 years of age and older:
1.) Adequacy- choosing foods that are nutrient-dense (this will help provide nutrients for your body and metabolism)
2.) Balance- maintain a balanced lifestyle and nutrition with moderate physical activity (e.g., sleep, food groups, etc.)
3.) Calorie Control- no brainer! Stay within your calorie allotted for your nutrition goals. Stay hydrated. This can also mean to ensure that you are eating ENOUGH calories so as to not leave your body in survival mode and holding onto essential fats to keep you alive. (this is why fad diets and profound restrictive diet programs do not work!)
4.) Moderation- try to eat from every food group and in moderation (portion sizing- use your palm as a reference- cupped palm=~1 cup; fist face up=~1/2 cup).
5.) Variety- have FUN with this one. So, we discussed hitting all the food groups with emphasis on whole grains and veggies group, but variety can be a great way to explore new techniques and methods of cooking your foods as well as color! (e.g., dark leafy greens, various sources of protein, etc.)
These guidelines and other nutrition information can all be found on government websites and most importantly choosemyplate. Wonderful reference tools to use to help jump-start you to healthy nutrition patterns.
Next blog I will be addressing special dietary restrictions and particularly my health journey as a vegetarian endurance athlete and hard lessons I've learned along the way.
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