Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday Favorites: Food Edition

I admit it.  When I participate in Friday Favorites, I'm usually posting about fun things like songs, products, links, humorous posts from pinterest, etc.  This week, it's a little more serious.  Because I gotta be serious about getting myself seriously healthy.  (That's a whole lotta serious in this post.)


Monday, I went to a dietitian.  I am a girl whose weight has been on a roller coaster ride for almost 20 years.  Too long.  That's an entire topic for another day.  Back to the dietitian.  We talked about portion control, which foods to eat and how much, which foods to eat in moderation, the Glycaemic Index, "discretionary foods", and so on.  She is a big proponent of not excluding any major food group, but balancing them appropriately for better health.

Source


So...we looked at those food groups and discussed my favorite foods from each group.  We discussed the "favorites" and how much (or how little) of them I should be eating.  I liked this plan of action.  I don't have to erase potatoes or cheese from my diet.  I just need to know the portions of potatoes and cheese I should be eating, and what other foods I should be eating with them.  Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to have just potatoes and cheese everyday.  I have a food diary and a follow-up appointment in three weeks.  I gotta do something, and I gotta do something now.  So, I'm doing it.


Vegetables - 5 serves per day:

My faves (when I made this list, I realized that I like a lot more vegetables than I thought because I had more to list, and of course, I can eat the others that I like too):
  • potato (I can have potato...I just need to eat a small portion and eat more of the other options)
  • sweet potato (see above)
  • carrot  
  • onion
  • salad leaves
  • corn
  • green peas
  • asparagus
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower 
  • green beans
  • artichoke
  • pumpkin
  • cucumber

Fruit - 2 serves per day:

My faves:
  • grapes
  • raspberries 
  • cherries
  • avocados
  • pears
  • green apples 
  • bananas
  • oranges
  • watermelon
  • blackberries
  • blueberries
  • nectarines
  • plums
  • cranberries
  • I like fruit.

High Fibre Grains - 6 serves per day:

My faves (this surprised me because of all the people who seem to cut this category out entirely, plus this is most definitely my most difficult category to determine five favorites; this will definitely be my most challenging category):
  • bread (multi-grain)
  • pasta
  • tortillas
  • crispbread
  • muesli

Protein (lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, legumes/beans) - 2 1/2  serves per day:

My faves (serves are closer to the whole method of size of your palm or size of your hand depending on the item; and I'm to try to avoid "deli meats"):
  • chicken (no skin)
  • beef (lean, no fat)
  • turkey
  • various legumes and beans
  • various nuts, especially almonds
  • peanut butter

Dairy - 2 1/2 serves per day:

My faves:
  • cheese ((I can have cheese...I just need to eat a small portion)
  • milk
  • yogurt
  • creamy salad dressing
  • sour cream
So, yeah, those last two are on the discretionary list.  Oops.

Maybe, next Friday Favorites, I'll discuss those discretionary foods.  Shall I?

Linking up with Amanda for Friday Faves:
http://meetat-thebarre.com/2015/08/28/friday-favorites-the-last-one-in-august/



13 comments:

  1. I'm not overly fond of cutting out a food group either. I don't think, long term, it's sustainable and also makes you prone to binging.

    I finally buckled down this week and started doing something about my weight, too. It's out of control.

    Hooray for keeping potatoes and cheese!!

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  2. girl this is awesome! good for you for talking to a dietitian about all that. i think my problem is i know HOW to eat but i'm just terrible at being disciplined about it. especially when there's always yummy (but junky) food around every corner. and alcohol may be my worst culprit. excited to see your journey progress!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  3. Sounds like you got a lot of great info! I love the idea of not cutting things out of your diet completely, but rather having hte right portion every once in awhiel!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  4. If you ever need some advice or an ear, I'm here hun. I'm 80% paleo but I'm not completely rigid, I do enjoy yummy "bad" food but it's seriously all about moderation. <----- says the girl that ate Doritos Cool Ranch last night... Such a hypocrite lol

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  5. I'm actually on day 3 of trying to eat better and exercise so I love this post! Let us know how everything goes! - Svetlana @Life with a Side of Wine

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  6. girl i feel you. i love this way of doing it though, looking at what you like and what you should be eating. often when i try and eat healthy, i eat what i think i should and then i burn out 2 days later. my life without potatoes would be no life at all. also, sour cream and salad dressing are 2 of my legit favourite things. add whipped cream and you've got a party! but seriously, i need to get my butt into gear as well. i've struggled with my weight and body image for almost 15 years (ouch) and i need to start treating myself better, not for the scale, but for my heart and health.

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  7. YES! I totally agree! It drives me bonkers when people follow an all paleo or veggie diet. Your body needs ALL of those things! :) I too need to pay more attention to portion size...when it comes to pasta...half of the box is certainly not one serving...haha

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  8. I have been slacking with healthy eating and working out lately. Good for you for going to a nutritionist! I love me some potatoes and sweet potatoes but I'm usually too lazy. But I love roasting brussels sprouts or throwing spinach into a scramble, or on my sandwich, or as a salad.

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  9. I don't think I could ever give up eating potatoes. They are just way too delicious! :)

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  10. Eating healthy is a challenge for me at times because I just love so many foods that are terrible for my health and body. I've been a lot better in recent years (I even scored 100/100 on my last health insurance health screen!), but I definitely still eat my pastas with cream sauce and chocolate and pizza and a million other things that are clearly not healthy.

    One thing I've been doing lately is heating up steamed vegetables for lunch at work. I usually eat between 1 1/2 - 2 cups for lunch (so I'm definitely not hungry at all after eating), and I'll bring fruit or a granola bar for a morning snack. I'm getting a lot of servings of healthy foods in, eating enough to feel full and satisfied, and considerably reducing my caloric intake for the day.

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  11. Giving up cheese is way too hard. Good luck to you.

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  12. I met with a nutritionist once and she gave me some great suggestions. Now if only I was better at implementing those suggestions!

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  13. I didn't see wine on this list...wine is a fruit, right??! ;)

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