CPC_p012

CP102015

C R Y D E R P O I N T 12Ocotber The Food Journal EXPOSED A Dietician By Michelle Shapiro, RD Food journaling and meal planning are vital components in any nutrition change. These two health facilitators may appear time consuming, but studies continuously show the advantages of these tools. While dietitians do have a plethora of nutrition information to work with; they, like everyone else, have time constraints, social responsibility, cravings and preferences which can lend to “less than perfect” nutrition decisions. The only way to be sure we are maintaining a healthy life is to be honest with ourselves about where we are health-wise, recognize our flaws, and work to improve them. This article is a 24 hour food journal with pictures detailing a day of eating in my week. I wanted to create this live journal for you to give an idea of what a planned diet may look like. While taking pictures of my food, I found myself trying to eat a perfect balance of complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats in order to impress my readers. This in itself shows the profound impact of being accountable for what we eat and how that may impact what we decide to eat. I always advise clients to make a separate section in their food journal for “why I was eating.” Food journals allow us to open our eyes not only to the food we are eating, but our emotional patterns for eating. My purpose in this article is to show what goes into planning healthy meals for the day, even amongst someone with nutrition expertise. Breakfast: 5:30 am For breakfast: 2 oz. Smoked Salmon, 1 slice Ezekial bread, ½ medium size avocado and a drizzle of Balsamic dressing. I am most hungry during my breakfast meal, perhaps because I haven’t eaten in 12 hours. I am really careful during breakfast to choose filling foods (protein and fiber) to ensure I stay full and to avoid any blood sugar drops in the morning. The total yield for breakfast today was 270 calories, 13 grams protein and 9 grams of fiber. Snack 1: 8:30 am My goal usually is to eat every 2-3 hours, so I go to work prepared with several snacks. Usually in the morning, I have a protein with my carbohydrate, as I think all healthy snacks should include both, but this morning I wasn’t that hungry. I decided to eat 1 cup of grapes, for a total of 70 calories. Some nuts or yogurt added on to my snack would’ve been excellent choices. Lunch: 11:00 am I usually don’t have the time (or patience) to create masterpieces at lunch, so I stick to cold salads I can prepare quickly the night before. I chose frozen lentils. After heating them, I simply season them with lemon, pepper and a drop of olive oil and place them in the fridge overnight. Beneath the lentils is a leafy green salad. The yield for this lunch is 250 calories, 15 grams protein, 9 grams fiber. The protein and fiber content helped me stay full for a while. 12 cryder point courier | October 2015 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM Snack 2: 2:00 pm I need something a bit hardier in the afternoon because, like I said before, the 2:00pm- 5:00 pm range is dangerous for snacking. To prevent this, I make sure to have a snack that keeps me full. I choose KIND bars because they have limited ingredients lists, and ones with which I am comfortable. I get thefull feeling without all the added sugar found in many other bars. This bar was 200 calories and 6 grams of protein. This KIND bar also kills my sweet craving. Snack 3: 4:00 pm Preworkout snack. I aim to eat my workout snack 1-2 hours before I exercise, and always drink at least two glasses of water with it; something with simple and complex carbohydrates before the gym. The main thing I try to avoid before working out is too much fat. I find eating things like peanut butter slow me down or give me indigestion. I messed up a bit with my snack today because I added some vegan butter to my toast (no fat), although sparingly; one slice of the Ezekial bread and less than 1/3 of a teaspoon of Earth balance, for a total of 120 calories, 5 grams protein. I then went for a jog at around 5:30 pm. Dinner: 7:00 pm I took a couple sips of coconut water directly after my jog, the goal being to have simple carbohydrates in moderation less than 30 minutes post workout. When I returned home, I made myself wild caught tuna fish, a small sweet potato and a green salad. I made the tuna with an artichoke and olive oil spread instead of mayonnaise, and simply baked the potato. On my salad, only lemon juice. But this meal was just what I needed after my workout. Total yield: 270 calories, 27 grams protein. Dessert?! 8:30 pm I am chocolate crazed. I actually had no intention of having dessert, but then happened upon this in my freezer. Sometimes even the most perfect planning can go awry when we see something we want! I ate probably 5 tablespoons (perhaps 75 calories), which satisfied my chocolate craving, but I still felt hungry. So had a large peach as well. Total dessert yield: 140 calories. I attempt to arm myself with healthier options just in case I get into a snacking or chocolate-ravenous mood. All the nutrition information in the world won’t always protect me from an intense chocolate craving! Analysis: My total calorie yield for the day was 1,320 calories (My initial goal was 1600 calories). I believe I went under calories because I was working so hard to be PERFECT for this article. Again, this is a testament to the power of food accountability! However, eating below my calorie target was a fault, not a win. I was able to eat my 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables, although I would’ve liked to have varied my vegetables more. I felt decently full throughout the day, and enjoyed thinking more carefully about my food choices. Overall, food journaling is an important tool to help understand eating flaws and plan for a healthy future. Try a 1-day food journal and see if it is something you can incorporate into your routine!


CP102015
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