Personal Diet Plan

I love all things health and wellness. That is why I chose it as my major and what I want to immerse my life in. I love to work out and usually do so 6 days a week. My work out is non-negotiable. But, I also LOVE food. I’m a foodie. I started learning about food and what it means to eat clean about 6 years ago and I am still learning to this day. I love every different kind of food- different cuisines, simple, elaborate, sweet, sweet/salty combo… It is my weakness. I try to stick to a clean diet, meaning I eat whole foods, not many processed foods, and natural foods. But it is so hard to stick to that diet when society is advertising fast food and unhealthy food everywhere you look. 

My strengths and weaknesses when it comes to food are pretty obvious. 

Strengths- I love vegetables. I like fruit. I drink a lot of water. I eat mostly lean protein. I drink a protein shake full of vitamins and minerals. I try to limit snacking. I cook all most all of our meals at home and we eat dinner as a family. 

Weaknesses- Although I eat fruits and veggies, I do not get enough of either one. I have a sweet tooth. After most meals, I’m looking for something to satisfy my sweet craving. When I do eat out, I do not always make the healthiest choices. And probably my biggest downfall- I take “bites” of my kids’ food way too much! I will get a salad and they get chicken nuggets or a plain cheeseburger and I’ll take a bite or finish what they do not eat. In my head, I think that taking a bite or two is better than eating the whole thing, but those couple of bites combined with my meal add extra calories pretty quickly.

+When you chose foods with nutrition in mind, you can enhance your own well-being+ (Sizer & Whitney, 2017). 

                                

Two key words to implement when it comes to diet are BALANCE and MODERATION. I try to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you eat whole foods, 20% of the time you can treat yourself with indulgent foods. 

Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. You can find these values and percentages on food labels. While I know it is a general estimation, I feel that people should really do the research and find out exactly what their caloric intake needs are. According to the recommended daily value of nutrients, I fall short, as do most Americans. 

(Sizer & Whitney, 2017)

I follow an eating plan on MyFitnessPal, an app that can be downloaded on your phone. According to this plan, my daily goals are:

Protein – 123g

Carbohydrates -123g 

Fiber – 25g

Sugar – 45g

Fat – 47g

Saturate Fat – 13g

And it also shows my intake of Vitamins A and C, Calcium and Iron. 

This is all based on my age, height, weight, being a female, and my goals to lose weight. I can enter my food on a daily basis to keep track of the calories and nutrients I am eating or not eating. To some, this may be extreme and too obsessive or too time-consuming. But for me, it is a great way to keep track of the foods I am eating and how much. That being said, almost daily I fall short in fiber and protein. So, I have been trying to eat foods higher in fiber, such as oatmeal for breakfast and air-popped popcorn for a snack to reach my fiber goal. 

Two rules I am going to try to follow more strictly are to drink water before each meal, and to eat veggies most, meaning I eat more vegetables than anything else at meal time. I also am going to try to eat more fruit throughout the day. If I let fruit be my snack, I will not only be getting vitamins and minerals, but fruit is natures candy, and this will satisfy the sweet cravings. 

A great site for simple, healthy recipes that I use a lot is Skinnytaste. Check it out for healthy recipe ideas. 

Hugs and Blessings,

A. Gish

References:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2017). Nutrition: Concepts and controversies. (14^thed). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/Sizer.2199.17.1/sections/ch2-sec1?search=2%2C000%20calorie%20diet#w22377