Developing Your Personal Meal Plan
Nutrition For a Healthy Lifestyle
Meredith Terranova, RD
512-527-9578 or meredithbn@
1) Eat Breakfast
Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. Studies show that breakfast skippers on average consume more calories than breakfast eaters. Skipping breakfast leads to decreased productivity, irritability and fatigue mid-afternoon. Breakfast eaters can burn in excess of 300 calories more than non-breakfast eaters can.
Solutions to common excuses:
“I don’t have time.” – here are some quick and easy options:
◆ Yogurt and cereal (such as Kashi Go Lean Crunch) mix
◆ Banana and a glass of skim milk
◆ Smoothie – made with skim milk and frozen berries
◆ Whole wheat English muffin or toast topped with peanut butter or low fat cheese
◆ Blueberry muffins (from the cookbook) with peanut butter
“I’m not hungry in the morning.” – Most likely the result of too many calories the night before.
“I’m on a diet.” – You burn breakfast calories more easily with the same amount eaten at night. By skipping breakfast you are more likely to get too hungry and overindulge at night.
“I don’t like breakfast foods.” – Try nontraditional breakfast foods such as a veggie burger, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cottage cheese and fruit.
“When I eat breakfast, I feel hungrier all day.” – If you are eating a very small breakfast it is just enough to get your stomach moving, but not satisfying. Make sure your breakfast is carbohydrate rich, fiber rich, and full of fruit and protein. Aim for at least one dairy serving, one fruit serving and one whole grain serving. Breakfast should range between 300-500 calories.
Sample 300 Calorie Breakfasts
◆ ½ cup dry oatmeal
1 cup skim milk
Small apple or orange
◆ 2 whole wheat frozen waffles
½ cup fat free yogurt
1 cup strawberries, sliced
◆ 1 slices whole wheat bread
1 T peanut butter
1 cup melon
2) Eat Snacks
Snacks help to keep you from getting too hungry between meals. When you are starving you tend to reach for the high calorie, high fat foods. It is better to eat 6 small meals, instead of 2 or 3 huge meals. By eating snacks you also get an extra calorie burn. This is called the thermic effect of food or the calories you expend digesting food. Aim to eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours. If you have trouble remembering at first, set your watch alarm. Try to steer clear of snacks that are purely carbohydrates. These may satisfy your taste buds at the moment, but you will be hungry again in an hour or so. Add some protein to your snack. This is a good time to get in a dairy serving for your protein and a fruit serving for your carbohydrate.
Such as:
◆ Fruit: small apple, banana, sliced melon, berries
◆ Go Lean bar plus a bag of veggies
◆ Yogurt with ½ an apple or veggies (make sure your snacks are big enough)
◆ String cheese with low fat whole wheat crackers
◆ Sliced cheese or 2 laughing cow wedges with one serving bite size low fat whole wheat crackers (HEB brand serving size 11 crackers)
◆ Dried unsweetened fruit
◆ Cottage cheese with fruit
◆ Celery with peanut butter or light ranch
◆ One serving of nuts…8-10 nuts!
◆ Apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter
◆ Apple with 2 light string cheese or laughing cow wedges
Protein/energy bars can also have the right proportion of carbohydrates and protein. There is nothing special about these bars, but watch the fat and calories in them. You want to make sure they are a snack serving!
3) Eat a lunch full of protein as well as carbohydrates
You will maintain a level of blood sugar and prevent sinking spells mid afternoon. Also, protein generally takes longer to digest, meaning you are burning additional calories while your body is breaking it down. The leanest protein choices include seafood and egg whites. Try, also, to include 1-2 of your vegetable servings at lunch. Lunches should also range in calories from 300-500.
Sample lunches
◆ 2 cups of salad with 3 oz of tuna, chicken or other lean meat, ½ cup of corn or beans, 2 T of low fat or fat free salad dressing
◆ Cup of low sodium soup, 3 whole wheat crackers, a small piece of fruit, and light string cheese
◆ Sandwich on whole wheat bread with 3 oz lean meat, lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, a small piece of fruit and baby carrots
4) Have an early dinner
Eat 75% of daily calories before dinner. You are more sedentary at night than during the day and you burn few calories while you sleep. Try not to eat within 3 hours of going to bed. Dinner, like lunch, should range from 300-500 calories and this is also a good time to get your vegetable serving in. Your plate should be filled with ½ vegetables, ¼ starch, and ¼ protein.
5) Pay attention to your weekend eating habits
◆ Americans consume an extra 345 calories per day every weekend. Cumulative effect of Friday’s nachos and beer, Saturday’s third pizza slice, and Sunday’s cinnamon bun: 5 lbs. a year.
◆ People tend to consume more fat and alcohol, and less protein and carbohydrates, on weekends.
Here’s how to fight the urge to indulge:
◆ Stick to your routine. Schedule and eat meals at specific times, as you do during the week, and eat on time. Waiting until you are starving can lead to overeating.
◆ If you are going to splurge, choose one meal. Decide ahead of time which meal will be your indulgence.
◆ Eat fruits and vegetables. To prevent overeating high-calorie foods, include filling, low calorie fruit as snacks and vegetables with meals.
◆ Fill up before going out. Just as you shouldn’t go to the grocery store hungry, don’t go to a weekend event hungry. Having a meal or snack at home first makes it easier to turn down unhealthy temptations
5) Make small, realistic changes that naturally fit into your lifestyle.
Here are a few ideas to get you started. Pick one diet pattern and stick to it for a few weeks. Once you have that one mastered, move on to another. You do not have to change every bad eating habit at one time. Short-term goals will help you lose the weight and keep it off.
• Keep a food journal. People lose 10% more weight when they keep a food record. They find that they are much less likely to eat something if they know they have to write it down. Journals also help to identify and eliminate bad eating habits such as grazing on unhealthful foods or stress eating.
• Think small. Try using smaller plates and bowls. This will help you to reduce your portion sizes without feeling deprived by the empty space on the plate.
• Say no to sweets. Instead, snack on pretzels or bananas. To satisfy your sweet tooth, try eating 5 fruits per day. You will save a tremendous amount of calories and gain valuable vitamins and minerals. You will also be surprised at how your sweet tooth diminishes.
• Watch your sodium intake. Try to keep your sodium intake to less than 2000mg per day. This will help reduce water retention and decrease your intake of processed foods.
• Drink less alcohol. An alcoholic beverage can range in calories from 50-500 calories per drink. Unfortunately, liquid calories do not make us feel full. Additionally, alcohol tends to make us feel less full, leading us to intake additional calories. Drink in moderation, which is 1 drink per day for women and two for men.
• Eat your veggies. Vegetables are extremely low in calories and are chock full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to fight disease. Try eating 2 vegetables at lunch and dinner; this will cut down your consumption of high calorie foods.
• Drink more water. Water can actually help burn fat. Not only does water keep you full, but it is also essential for the metabolism of fat. Shoot for a minimum of 64 ounces per day and watch that fat melt away.
Changing one or two of your diet patterns can make a difference in your overall health.
And some final helpful facts:
Eating just 10 calories extra every day could contribute to one pound gained each year.
◆ 10 calories/day x 365 days = 3650 extra calories a year
That's just 1 hard candy, 1 nibble of a cookie, a sip of soda, or a thin smear of butter. Just one of these ten additional calories every day could account for the average one pound many Americans gain each year.
An extra 100 calories consumed each day adds up to nearly a pound a month.
◆ 100 calories x 30 days = 3000 extra calories a month
That extra pound each month could come from eating just a third of a doughnut, 8 oz of beer, 8 oz of soda, an extra tablespoon of salad dressing, 2/3 oz of chips, or just 10 French fries extra each day. Conversely, if you eat just 100 calories less each day, you can lose a pound a month or 10 pounds a year with very little effort. Just a few small changes can have a major impact upon your weight.
Bran Muffins w/ Blueberries
12 muffins
Ingredients:
1-cup skim or 2% milk
2 small eggs or 1 large egg
¼ cup molasses
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
6 T bran
1 T and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions:
Combine all wet ingredients and mix for 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients one at a time. Mix all ingredients together for 30 seconds. Add blueberries and mix. Do no over mix.
Spoon into greased muffin cups. Bake at 300° until very brown about 1 hour.
Will store in refrigerator for 1 week.
Nutrition: Calories: 162 kcal, Fat: 1g, Protein: 4g, Carbohydrates: 35g
Vegan Goodness Bars
Molasses-Almond Butter Bar: 136 calories, 3 grams fat, 24 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein, 10 grams fiber, 132mg potassium, 10% Iron, 6% Calcium, 1% Vitamin A.
Peanut Butter Bar: 140 calories, 4 grams fat, 20 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein, 8 grams fiber, 128mg potassium, 8% Iron, 6% Calcium, 1% Vitamin A
If you like this recipe or the vegan bars you can order:
Quick and Healthy Recipes for Active People OR Vegan Goodness Bars
On-line at
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