Easy Ways to Eat More Rainbows
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 11:21AM Easy Ways to Eat More Rainbows
One of my patients came to see me recently and inspired me to write this article. Since I last saw him six months ago, he massively improved his diet and started exercising to lose 30 pounds. His cholesterol dropped 45 points and his triglycerides dropped 100 points. He accomplished this by using some of the tips that you can find below. I hope they inspire you to make similar changes in your own diet so that you can experience the victory of being healthy.
Mix beans with meat to reduce the amount of fat and calories. For recipes that call for ground beef or other meats, replace one third or one half of the meat with beans such as kidney beans or red beans or black beans. You will be surprised at how good this tastes.
Add spinach and other healthy greens to most any dish, but especially to stews, soups, rice and pasta. One of my favorite meals is brown rice with frozen spinach and seasoning. It is very filling and tasty.
Try meatless days. Meats are high in fat and high in calories and low in vitamins and other healthy nutrients. Replace meats with beans or other vegetables.
Eat until you are only 80% full. It takes 20 minutes after your stomach is full for you to feel satisfied. Most Americans wolf down their meals in under 10 minutes. Stop when you are 80% full and wait 20 minutes before eating something more. You will usually find that you feel satisfied. This is one of the most effective ways to reduce your weight.
Eat the healthiest foods first. Fill up on the healthiest and most nutritious foods first because they are usually the lowest in calories and highest in nutrients. Eat salads followed by non-starchy vegetables, then starchy vegetables and only then eat other foods.
Plan for treats. Rather than eating desserts or other unhealthy foods at every meal, plan to eat foods that you consider to be treats only on specific days and special occasions.
Try new healthy recipes. One day a week, try a new healthy recipe. Eventually, you will find a new favorite that you can enjoy frequently. If you gradually improve your diet over time, your health will also improve.
Go a week without a specific junk food. Pick an unhealthy food that you eat frequently and do not eat it for seven days. You will probably find that you do not miss it. This is even more effective if you do it for 21 days.
Eat Five-A-Day. Eat five different fruits and vegetables every day. This will help you to get adequate vitamins and nutrients. See how many consecutive days you can do this.
Have at least one salad daily. Ideally, you should eat two salads daily. Leave off high fat salad dressing, cheese and bacon bits. Use lettuce other than iceberg because of its relatively low nutritional value.
You literally are what you eat. All of the cells in your body are made from the food that goes into your mouth. If you eat junk food, you will build a junk body. If you eat healthy foods including all the colors of the rainbow, you will build the body of your dreams.
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Reader Comments (2)
In response to your bike ride being a failure turned success...I trained 3 times a week, 40 miles each time over a period of two months for the MS 150 in 1998. I was ready -but the weather was rainy, the temp was in the 60's and I was too much of an amateur to have packed extra socks and a rainjacket. I did the first day, (75 miles) in 6 hours! Not bad for a beginner! I was exhilarated to have finished: and there were others after me, even though I was among the slowest! I wanted to do the return trip the next day, (bright, clear, warmer), but I had reached my physical limit. I took the bus back....But like Dr. Fullington, I know I didn't fail. It will be one of the most satisfying acheivements of my lifetime. I fell among the stars, and I will tell everyone who gives me a chance!!!
Great job on the MS 150 Heather. One of my first long rides was a similar fundraiser for diabetes, the Tour de Cure. I was exhausted afterwords. Charity rides are a great way to get started cycling because there are usually several distance options, they give you incentive to train and the snacks and support are fabulous.
Dr. Doug