Proper Portion Sizes

A key component to weight change, whether loss or gain, or maintenance is proper portion sizes. 

The USDA has developed MyPlate to use as a guide in eating a balanced diet.  MyPlate is an icon of a plate, divided into 4 food groups, with dairy shown on the side.  The plate is divided into fruits, vegetables, protein, and grains. 

MyPlate is meant to give you a general idea of what your plate should look like.  The size of the plate and exact amounts depend on your activity level, along with several other factors.  See a dietitian to determine how many calories are right for you, whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain your weight. 

The Dietary Guidelines encourage you to enjoy your food, but eat less and to avoid oversized portions.

Figure out what portions you are eating now, using scales or measuring cups.  By using the serving size on food labels, you can determine how many calories are in the amount you are eating.  Often we eat more than one serving.

Restaurant portion sizes are getting bigger and bigger.  Don't finish your plate.  Ask for a to-go box right when you get your meal.  Out of sight, out of mind. 

Keep track of hunger cues.  Eat mindfully.  Eating at the kitchen table makes this much easier than eating while driving or watching tv.  It helps you notice when you are full, and you are less likely to overeat.

Proper portion sizes can make a big difference in weight loss efforts.

Drinking Water

Drinking plenty of water has many health benefits.  More than you might imagine.  After all, two-thirds of our bodies are made up of water. 

Your brain consists of 90% water, blood is 83% water, bone is 22% water, and muscle is up to 75% water. 

Water regulates our body temperature, detoxifies, protects and moisturizes our joints and the air in our lungs, and transports nutrients and oxygen into cells.  By not drinking enough water, you can become dehydrated.  Symptoms include tiredness, migraines, constipation, muscle cramps, irregular blood pressure, kidney problems, dry skin, and even death.

Drinking plain water can become boring but there are ways to stay hydrated by adding flavoring to your water or by regularly including high water content foods to your balanced diet.  Some of these foods include leafy greens like spinach, cabbage, romaine lettuce; melons, like watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew; and tomatoes. 

Everyday you lose water by perspirating, breathing, urinating and having bowel movements.  You have to replenish the water you lose by drinking beverages and eating foods containing water.

There are sources stating that the adequate water intake for men is about 13 cups of total beverages a day, and 9 cups daily for women.  Other sources state 8 cups a day are needed for everyone.

However, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 states "Based on an extensive review of evidence, an Institute of Medicine panel concluded that the combination of thirst and usual drinking behavior, especially the consumption of fluids with meals, is sufficient to maintain normal hydration.  Because water needs vary considerably and because there is no evidence of chronic dehydration in the general population, a minimum intake of water cannot be set."

I would agree with the Dietary Guidelines since everyone's activity level and climate can be so different.  Follow your body's cues, drink when you feel it necessary; stop when you do not. 

References:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DGAC/Report/D-6-SodiumPotassiumWater.pdf

Getting in Whole Grains

Experts are saying we should eat whole grains more often because they are healthy, nutritious, and full of the vitamins and minerals we need to stay at our best. 

If whole grains are so healthy, why do 80% of us eat them less than once per day?

To start, it doesn’t help that many people don’t know what whole grains are.  What makes something whole grain anyways?  What foods are they in?  How much do we need to see health benefits?

Whole grains contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed.  The food products should deliver the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed.

Basically, whole grain means the food contains the entire whole grain kernel.   Each part of the kernel contains important nutrients our bodies need.   The bran contains the fiber, the endosperm the starch and the germ vitamins and antioxidants.  By keeping the entire whole grain kernel in a food, we are making sure we are getting all of these nutrients we need for our health. 

The main benefits of whole grains: 

• stroke risk reduced
• type 2 diabetes risk reduced
• heart disease risk reduced
• better weight maintenance

Other benefits:

• reduced risk of asthma
• lower risk of colorectal cancer
• healthier blood pressure levels
• less gum disease and tooth loss

 Examples of whole grains:

Foods like oatmeal, bulgur wheat, brown rice, popcorn are whole grain and great to eat for both you and your children.

It gets trickier with foods like breads, crackers, pasta, and tortillas to tell if they are whole grain or not.  It doesn’t make it any easier that manufacturers go out of their way to make their products look and sound healthy, even when they aren’t.  Putting words like “100% wheat,” or “multi-grain” on a package of food does not necessarily mean it is whole grain.

We need to know how to tell if a product is considered whole grain or not if we are going to eat more whole grains.

There are 4 things to look for:

1.The Health Claim: diet with soluble fiber, and low saturated fat and cholesterol, may decrease risk of heart disease.

2.Soluble fiber should be listed on the nutrition facts label.

3.Whole grain label statement of being an excellent source of whole grain should be on front of the product.

4.Whole grains should be listed as the first ingredient on the box.

When a food does not have one of these 4 things on the food package, then it is a refined grain instead of a whole grain.

A refined grain has been changed from its natural state, generally involving the removal of bran and germ.

Refined grains are foods like white bread, pastas, baked goods, saltine crackers, white rice.

Since in refined grains the bran and the germ are taken out, we are also taking out the fiber and vitamins within these parts.

Fiber is especially important to our health.  The more we get, the better.  Fiber has many health benefits: it prevents constipation, lowers your risk of colon cancer, makes you feel full longer, and helps keep the digestive system healthy.

Recommended Daily Intake:

The Institute of Medicine recommends that adult females get 21-26 grams of fiber/day. As for children, 1-3 year olds should get about 19 grams of fiber/day and 4-8 year olds should get about 25 grams of fiber/day.

As for whole grains:

Dietary Guidelines for Americans: “Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains.  Increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains.”  This means that at least three servings of whole grains are recommended for all Americans age 9 and up.

Next time you are at the grocery store, pick out some of those whole grain products!

References

The Whole Grains Council. http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/