Healthy Eating Plan Comparison

Making the decision to change the lifestyle I was following, 11 weeks ago, was the most excellent decision made throughout my entire life. Losing my father to diabetes was an eye opener. The suffering that they go through is not something desirable. Not eating fast foods continues to be the regimen to follow. Eating every three hours and eating the recommended amounts of food not only is healthy, but it contributes to the well being in the inside and outside of the body. MyPyramid recommended for me to stay within 1800 calories to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Keeping a journal has allowed me to keep track of the changes that need to be implemented to stay on track with the healthy plan. The journal has allowed for me to notice what types of food make me feel energetic and what makes me feel tired and if I need to make any changes to the diet. I have not made any drastic changes to my diet since I started my nutritional education at Axia College, reason being I had been practicing the change in eating habits for three weeks prior to the class commencing. I did notice I keep track of what I eat which makes life much simpler and well organized.

When making food choices I am more aware of the size portions needed to maintain healthy. Eating healthy will not provide immortality but it sure can prevent us from getting many chronic deseases. Eating too much protein can cause our urine to dispose the calcium in our bodies and this is what can cause osteoporosis in many women, this is something I was not aware of (Tsang, 2007). Having too much of a nutrient can be counterproductive; therefore keeping a journal can be very helpful in keeping track of the daily consumptions. Continuing to eat from the five groups; grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat and beans provides a wide range of foods to select and include in the daily menu. This allows for variety without getting tired of the same food consumption.

Processed foods are not a part of the list for food items to purchase during grocery shopping. Making simple changes like having fruits available for snacks rather than chips or candy can make a difference. The whole family enjoys the healthy food available at home and these changes have not caused any inconveniences to the whole family especially the children. They enjoy eating the snacks. The family thinks we eat more now that we are eating healthy. House chores are not looked like house chores anymore it may be because we are more energized to complete our daily tasks.

Making a menu ahead of time provides an ample variety of choices. The menu provides ideas and keeps the necessary information to make sure that all the necessary items needed are available and the journal keeps track if changes are made to the menu. Sometimes being out and about does not make it easy to stay within the menu selections, and changes need to be made. The journal helps notate these types of changes throughout the day in case any other adjustments need to be taken place.

Following a plan has made the changes easier for the whole family. Preparing foods ahead of time makes it convenient for everyone and helps the whole family avoid convenient restaurants. It takes two hours for me to prepare the foods to be used during the week. Preparing the meats, having them cooked and browned just ready to be mixed, makes the food preparation time quicker. Having dinner ready in 15 minutes is much faster than the time it takes the whole family to get in the car, and go to the restaurant ordering and wait for the food to be served. Cooking at home has never been more convenient and nutritional. Not only do we eat healthy but it’s a lot less expensive.

The current nutritional recommendations from MyPyramid are the same as the first time I logged on to the website which were to eat 1800 to maintain a healthy weight. Following you will find an example of one day’s menu that I have used within the last 11 weeks. I will continue with this same lifestyle only because I have maintained my weight, and my husband has lost, 15 pounds since we made the changes. I can tell you he is very excited for the weight loss but he has noticed a difference in energy. He feels less tired and he complains less about his knees and I don’t see him limping anymore, I think these are excellent advantages for just changing our eating habits.

One day’s Menu

Breakfast 1 slice of wheat toast

1 spoon of real fruit spread