Balance meal plan

Above about balance meal plan.

Having a plan for how to eat throughout the day is essential, but many people feel lost with knowing the rights foods to choose all day that will provide nutrition, taste, and keep them from being hungry all day. Most people feel if they can place emphasis on one healthy meal a day, they are doing all they can do. However, realistically a person who takes a few simple steps of preparation can eat healthy all day, enjoy his/her food more, and feel satisfied with food choices all day, every day.

Ufortunately, people have a misconception that they shouldn’t eat throughout the day. Many people will only eat one meal a day, and think this will help them lose weight. This is a misconception, because what this actually does is make your body think it will not get enough food or nutrients so it stores up anything it does get. The only storage system the body has is fat. What helps people lose weight is keeping the metabolism going all day long, and that requires about five small meals a day.

Delicious, metabolism boosting plan for the day:
Breakfast: Omelet with fresh vegetables, white cheese, and fresh fruit on the side. If you drink coffee, keep that down to one cup, and be very careful about how much sugar and creamer you are using. For more on the right breakfast read Start Your Day the Right Way.
Mid-morning snack: Smoothie with fresh orange juice, yogurt, frozen fruit, banana or yogurt and a filling fruit like a banana.
Lunch: a delicious salad (read A New Spin on Salad for some delicious salad recipes), or a healthy wrap. With lunch, try turkey or chicken in the wrap instead of greasier meats like ham, roast beef, etc. Avoid mayonnaise. If you want a side with your meal, reach for baked chips or crackers instead of a mayonnaise based slaw or potato salad, or greasy French fries.
Mid-afternoon snack: some baked crackers such as Wheat Thins, a few cubes of cheese, and/or some fruit. When snacking, remember to take out how much you want instead of taking the box to the couch or your desk which leads to overeating usually without even realizing it.
Dinner: baked or grilled chicken, fish, or meat (the objective here is a balanced meal, but be realistic with the portion size you give yourself), a side like baked potato (the potato is healthy, don’t over do it with the toppings) or wheat pasta (pasta is a good carb that your body needs, but making the switch to wheat pastas and wheat breads is a easy and healthy way to give your body the good carbs it needs for energy without adding extra calories and fats), and finish with a healthy vegetable or salad. Use only fresh or frozen vegetables, canned vegetables add too much sugar, preservatives, and sodium to your diet, and take away from essential nutrients. Steamed is the best way to cook vegetables to maintain the necessary nutrients; during the cooking process, many or all nutrients can be cooked out.

Set a goal for yourself to not eat past 7:00pm so your body is not going to bed and doing nothing but sleeping with a full stomach and no way to burn the extra calories. If you need a snack after dinner, try for fruit or 100 calorie snack or ice cream bar. If you must have sugary snacks, buy the miniatures and limit yourself to two, this will satisfy the craving without adding too many calories or too much sugar. Avoid sodas, too much alcohol, and remember to drink enough water (for more info on water read Water Works). This simple plan will keep your metabolism burning all day, which means you burn more calories throughout the day, and provide you with all the essential nutrients and parts of the food pyramid you need daily. The key is don’t deprive yourself of food or meals, just plan a full, healthy serving every day. Remember healthy living is about a lifestyle change, not a short-sited diet.