Weight Management and Portion Control

Aim for a 1500 calorie diet: you can still have full meals and snacks!
Breakfast = 300 calories
Lunch = 300-400 calories
Dinner = 500 Calories
Snack = 100 calories

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Eating a healthy breakfast will give you more energy, keep you satisfied, and help manage your weight.

Aim for a combination of complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

• Add fruit and vegetables to breakfast to increase vitamin C intake
• Strawberries in cereal or yogurt
• Broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes, and spinach in eggs
• Eat whole grains for fiber
• Oatmeal
• Whole wheat bread
• Nuts in cereal, yogurt, or oatmeal

Shopping for your pantry: Dos and Don’ts

Do:
• Buy produce at the peak of ripeness if used within a couple of days or buy unripen produce to use later
• Always keep frozen produce: fruit for smoothies and veggies for rice and bean dishes
• Start shopping in the produce section and move around the store perimeter
• Buy in bulk
• Check ingredients in the foods you buy: look for “whole grains” or “whole wheat,” not just “wheat”

Don’t:
• Use fruit juice as a substitute – high in sugar, no fiber
• Use canned fruit – unnecessary syrup
• Shop in the center of the store where processed junk foods are placed
• Shop hungry
• Deviate from your shopping list
• Fall for sales on foods not on your list

Portion tips:

Aim for nutritionally dense foods for vitamins, minerals, and satiety (feeling satisfied).

Foods lower in energy and higher in nutrients = more food and fewer calories.

Example: An apple with peanut butter is larger in volume than a Snickers bar: it’s more filling and the apple has 100 fewer calories than the Snickers bar

Apple juice is lower in calories than an apple with peanut butter, but lacks protein and fiber and is high in sugar: it’s not as satisfy- ing

6 Easy Steps for Weekly Meal planning = the key to healthy eating

  1. When making a shopping list, assume there will be 21 meals in the week plus snacks
  2. Pack meals the day before
    1. Make large batches and freeze in portions
    2. Precook pasta or boil eggs ahead of time for salads, sandwiches, snacks
    3. Cut vegetables on the weekend for the rest of the week
  3. Prepare recipes that use similar ingredients in different ways
    1. Ingredients from dinner → next day’s lunch
    2. Dinner vegetables → scrambled eggs
    3. Roast chicken → extra in salad or sandwich
  4. Find favorite recipes to build basic shopping lists, especially ones that produce leftovers
  5. Know nutritional facts when choosing a recipe: those with lower sodium and fat are generally higher in fiber
  6. Be prepared when going to the grocery store
    1. Organize shopping list into produce, dry goods, meat and seafood, frozen, and dairy