Improving My Diet - Part 4 (Food Logging)

This article is the fourth installment of my series on various steps I am taking to improve my diet.  If you missed the earlier topics (Meal Planning, Eating a Rainbow, and Water Intake), you may read them on my blog, just visit http://agentsarah.blogspot.com/. This week I will address food logging.  It’s truly amazing how much more we eat than we realize.  If you really slow down and look at your portion size and log the food you eat correctly, often you will see why you are struggling with weight. 

If you have a smart phone, food logging is incredibly easy.  There are several great apps (MyFitnessPal, MyPlate Calorie Tracker, Lose It, etc.) that you may download to help you keep track of what you consume.  If you need help getting started, I will be happy to meet with you and walk you through any of these apps. 

So why is food logging an important factor in improving your diet?  We live in a society of large, grande, and supersized.  All of these are fine once in a while, but if you eat these large portions at every meal, you are consuming way more calories than you need.  Each person needs to intake a different amount of calories each day, depending on your goals, size, activity level, etc.  So I won’t give you a target calorie goal in this article, but I’ll be happy to help you work through your specific needs if you want to come by the office.  Once you figure out how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight, you can then determine how many more or less you need to eat to meet your goal weight.  Food logging helps you see what you actually consume.  So often we eat without thinking and by mid-day, you have consumed the amount of calories you need for the entire day.  People tend to forget about the calories in their coffee creamer or the chocolate treats on their desk.  But all of these forgotten calories add up and put you way over the amount of calories you actually need each day. 

I have said this before in other articles, but I am visual person.  Seeing things helps me understand them on a different level.  Food logging helps me see what food I am eating and helps me know where I need to adjust to meet my goals.  Hopefully, you will try this with me and I am happy to help you get started!

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.  

Improving My Diet - Part 3 (Drink Up!)

This article is the third installment of my series on improving my diet (and maybe yours too).  This week I will address water intake.  We all know that drinking water is good for us, but do we know why?  Even if you do know why, it is never bad to re-read it and to re-evaluate your current intake.

Because each person is different, we need different amounts of water.  But regardless of our shapes and sizes, we are all roughly two-thirds water and it makes since that our bodies would function best when properly hydrated.  A good rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.  So if you weigh 150lbs you should try to drink 75oz of water each day.  Start out with a glass of water when you first wake up; you’ll be surprised at how awake you feel.  Once you get into a habit of drinking water, it will come naturally.  You will start to crave water over sugary drinks.  

So why is water so important?  Let’s review a few of my favorite benefits to drinking water.  We all know that water has zero calories, but did you know that if you drink cold water, your body has to use energy (burn calories) to warm it up. Who doesn’t want to burn a few extra calories here and there?  Water is also a terrific appetite suppressant and it is an inexpensive alternative to sugary drinks when eating out. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps you feel full faster and eat less.  When we get to the installment on portion size, you’ll be thankful that you are already in a habit of drinking water before eating!  There is no doubt, being well hydrated keeps our body functioning properly but have you heard that water is also helps keep skin looking young.  Think about a dried up grape, it turns into a wrinkly raisin.  Dehydration has a similar effect on our skin.  So drink up!  

I am not going to go into all of the beneficial effects water has on our internal organs because this article would become a book.  Just trust me, we need water because it’s really good for us!  A few tips I have found that help me drink more include starting out my day with a glass of water, drinking ice or cold water, and adding fresh lemon to my water.  Try some of these to help get started if you feel like water isn’t the drink for you.  Like I said earlier, the more water you drink, the more water you want!

Here is a great infographic that details the benefits of staying properly hydrated.  

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.  

 

Improving My Diet - Part 2 (Eating A Rainbow)

As much as I would like to say that this article is about eating a big bag of Skittles, I am sorry, I am actually referring to another rainbow.   Last post I wrote the first part of a series on ways to improve my diet.  I began by addressing meal planning.  In this post I will address eating a rainbow of healthy foods. The more colors you add into your diet, the more vitamins and minerals you are getting form a natural source. 

Even though it is a fun and catchy thing to say, advice that you should eat a rainbow is really based in science.  Yellow and orange items are packed full of vitamins A and C, both of which are beneficial antioxidants.  Vitamin A is beneficial for many organs, including eyes, heart, lungs and kidneys.  Vitamin C helps block damage from free radicals (which play a role in aging) and it is needed to help with the growth and repair of our tissues.   Green foods provide an excellent source of vitamins K, B, and E.  Vitamin K helps us make proteins that support healthy bones and help with proper blood clotting.  The B vitamins include several names you’ve probably heard of (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, and folic acid to name a few). The B family of vitamins aid in energy production by transforming the food you consume while vitamin E is vital to our immune system.  Purple foods are a great source of vitamins C and K, already discussed.  Fruits and vegetables get their color from different phytochemicals (a fancy word basically meaning the characteristics of the plant, such as color and smell) that are found within them.

Knowing the vitamins that each color group is made up of can help ensure you get a variety of nutrients in each meal.  So as you are planning your weekly meals try to include a variety of different colors, both fruit and vegetable.  Remember to eat a rainbow, you’ll be glad you did!

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.