My Daily Fiber Updated

These are the foods I eat for the daily fiber we all need of 25-30 grams.

Sweet potatoes, 2 cups=12 grams;

Apple, 3.5 grams with skin;

Pepperidge Farm 12 grain bread, 3 grams;

Banana (medium), 2 grams;

My Greek Salad (red peppers, cucumbers, red onions, Feta cheese,

black olives), 4 grams (2 cups);

Kidney beans (1/2 cup), 7.3 grams;

Lima beans (1/2 cup), 4.5 grams;

Spaghetti (whole wheat), 3.9 grams;

Broccoli (1/2 cup), 2.3 grams;

Corn (1 ear), 5 grams;

Baked potato (medium), 3.8 grams;

Baked beans (1/2 cup), 5 grams.

You: The Owner’s Manual (one of the books in the Changemaker Library) lists the following foods with fiber count for each:

apple (3.5 grams—eat with skin),

banana (2 grams),

orange (1.2 grams),

sweet potato (1/2 cup-3 grams),

kidney beans (1/2 cup cooked-7.3 grams),

lima beans (1/2 cup cooked-4.9 grams),

brown rice (1/2 cup-2.4 grams),

whole wheat spaghetti (1 cup-3.9 grams),

figs (3 medium-5.3 grams, and

broccoli (1/2 cup-2.3 grams.

The authors recommend snack on dried fruit, such as apricots, figs, prunes, or raisins, for nutrition and fiber.

For a comprehensive 26 page PDF fiber chart and calorie counter, use the USDA nutrient database here. This site also has a 30 page calorie database that is the most exact I’ve found. The university of Pennsylvania Health System offers the databases from the USDA.

Technorati Tags : fiber, food, nutrition, spaghetti, potato, beans, broccoli, apple, broccoli, calorie

List of 100-200 Calories Links

This list will be constructed by you based on the foods you are presently enjoying. You will be designing your list to add variety and choice to your daily food plan. I know that you think it would be easier for you if we picked out the “good” food and the “bad” food. We believe any food that you can control the portion of when you eat it is a good food for you. Don’t sabotage yourself by choosing foods you already know that you can’t or won’t control the amount that you eat.

We have listed several Internet sources on the next page for you to use in creating your list of foods in the 100-200 categories. Create your own choices from the lists.

Always remember to count all the calories. Using a food journal or notebook will help you to remember all the calories you eat.

To count calories, we use Barbara Kraus’s Calories and Carbohydrates. Revised by Marie Reilly-Pardo.ISBN 0-451-20773-4.

Sometimes, you may reach a plateau. What happens as we lose weight is that the body adjusts to the smaller weight so we have to recreate what we have been adding. Always use the calories needed chart to determine the calories you can intake. Of course, you may increase the weight loss with exercise.

Resources for measuring food, calories, exercise for your 100-200 calories list:

v Utah published a lesson plan for 4^th graders that includes all the resources needed to begin designing your own list of food.

v If you want to evaluate calories needed for extreme exercise, Coach Gordo has these tips.

v In the Diabetes Planner site, read a short post about how to lose weight. Great tips!

vDr. Lam has good information about the use of a diet. He recommends giving yourself 12 months to lose the fat. He believes that it will take the long to lose weight and keep it off. He states that the overweight has taken years to accumulate so it will take time to get healthy again. He has list a detox diet protocol.

v Consumer Reports Online helps to teach how to red food labels.

v McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois has suggestions for eating healthy snacks as well as many other health topic articles.

v The value of customizable meal plans is how the major health plan programs work. They make money giving you weight loss advice and by on supplying portion-controlled food to you. Most people who do these food programs lose weight. But do they keep it off? Generally, no, because the weight losers are having someone do the portions and he/she is not learning to choose portions.

See all of our recommendations to learn to do your own meals. Creating Your Own Meals Plans

v Finally, 100 painless ways to cut calories from your daily food.

Creating Your Own Meals Plans

The value of customizable meal plans is how the major health plan programs work. They make money giving you weight loss advice and by on supplying portion-controlled food to you. Most people who do these food programs lose weight. But do they keep it off? Generally, no, because the weight losers are having someone do the portions and he/she is not learning to choose portions.

Our recommendations for creating your own meal plans are:

Diet-blog is one of our top 5 best reocmmendations for all diet/weight loss information. The site has a rundown on all the pros and cons for each diet plan that they research. The link for meal planning is here.

USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has a chart the will tell you the amount of each food group that you need daily inorder to maintain your present weight. This gives you the basic starting point for what you need to begin tracking your food intake.

WikiAnswers suggests:

"In establishing a meal plan first ensure why you want to do this in the first place. Is it an attempt at healthier eating or as a weight loss tool?"

"You should also get help in determining your body fat percentage. This will guide you in the amount of calories you can consume without storing excess unused calories as fat. The less bodyfat means that your body will be more efficient at using any excess calories and conversely a higher body fat percentage results in a slower rate of burning calories (metabolic rate)."

"Plan your meals around your activity level. If you lead a more sedentary lifestyle you should try to consume fewer calories and the more active your lifestyle the number of calories consumed can be higher. Be sure to include complex carbs in your meals as your body burns them more efficiently. To use the old adage 'Eat like a King for breakfast, a Prince for Lunch and a Pauper for dinner' ."

"Plan smaller meals as the day progresses. This is because your body will have less time to burn the calories consumed. An average of 5 meals a day should be fine, a small bowl of fruit can be considered a meal so too , a bowl of vegetables."

"Avoid: Cheese, fruits at night, oily foods (trans fat or not)and high carb meals (you don't need to have a lot of carbs at every meal)."

The current fad today (Feb. 2008) is toward mini-meals. Get some tips from Refrigerator Raid.

Changing Shape has suggestions to create your own low fat healthy meal plan.

The state of Vermont has a pdf chart to build your own meal plan.

Links from Food Pyramid Site

For more information on diet and related topics, try these links to other Federal government and partner websites:

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.
For the 70 page scientific document
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/
For the consumer brochure “Finding Your Way to a Healthier You”
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/brochure.htm
For more information about the Guidelines
http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/

Nutrition Facts label
For more information about understanding and using the Nutrition Facts label on food products
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html
For information about Qualified Health Claims on food product labels
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-qhc.html

Offering expert cooking advice, nutrition information, and shopping tips, the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters campaign demonstrates that eating MORE fruits and vegetables does matter to all of us. The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters campaign replaces the 5 A Day for Better Health Program. http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

Food and nutrition information
For access to more Federal government food and nutrition information
http://www.nutrition.gov

Farmers markets
To find a farmers market in your state
http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

Food and Nutrition Service Assistance Program
For more information about USDA nutrition assistance programs
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/

Food safety information
For information about keeping food safe to eat
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Food_Safety_Education/Food_Safety_Education_Programs/index.asp
For access to more Federal government food safety information
http://www.foodsafety.gov/
For information about mercury in fish
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html

Physical activity
For information about physical activity and health
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/index.htm

Food composition
For data on the nutrient content of specific foods
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/

Coronary heart disease/cardio-vascular disease
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/index.htm#chol

High blood pressure
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/index.htm#hbp
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_WhatIs.html

Obesity and maintaining healthy weight
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/index.htm#obesity
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/index.htm
http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov

Osteoporosis
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_bone.html

Diabetes
http://www.fda.gov/diabetes/

Anemia
http://www.4woman.gov/faq/anemia.htm

Neural tube defects
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/neuraltubedefects.html#preventionscreening

About Food Tracker USDA Site

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) at www.mypyramid.gov has several tools to help someone interested in finding a healthier life. The tools include: my pyramid plan, my pyramid tracker, steps to a healthier weight, pregnancy and breast-feeding, inside the pyramid, tips and resources, for kids, for professionals, dietary guidelines and related links.

The “My pyramid tracker” is a way to keep track of your food intake. The downloadable PDF worksheet is especially as it is divided into six groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans, and physical activity. You write down your food choices in the appropriate category.

Then at the bottom of the sheet, you can evaluate your day as so-so, great, and not so great. You will also have space to write out your food goal and your activity goal for tomorrow. “Some foods don’t fit into any group. These “extras” may be mainly fat or sugar—limit your intake of these.

From the steps to a healthier weight, the following articles are available.

(1) Why move to a healthier weight?

(2) What to eat—food choices

(3) How much to eat—portion sizes

(4) Choosing “nutrient-dense” forms of foods

(5) Increasing physical activity

(6) Tracking food intake and physical activity

(7) Websites for more information (which is included for our 1/31/08 post)

The USDA Food Pyramid

Using the new pyramid plan from the United States Department of Agriculture, the total calories needed for a 67 year old female( me in 2007) with less than 30 minutes of exercise daily is:

Grains-- 5 ounces (make half the grains whole)
Vegetables-- 2 cups (dark green, orange, starchy, and other vegetables included with 2 ½ cups of dry beans and peas)
Fruits--1.5 cups (variety of fruit—go easy on fruit juices)
Milk-- 3 cups (use low-fat or fat-free when you choose milk, yogurt or cheese)
Meat and Beans-- 5 ounces (go lean with protein—vary protein routine—include fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds)

Half of the grains should be whole grains. The site recommends 3 whole grains daily. The food program is based on a 1600 calorie diet. By using the My Pyramid Plan and changing the exercise to 30-60 minutes daily, the calorie count goes up to 1800 calories. For an exercise program of more that 60 minutes, the calorie count goes up to 2000. In other words, to lose weight, don’t increase your calorie intake while adding more exercise to your routine.

It has been estimated that in order to lose 1 pound of fat a 500 calorie daily change needs to happen. The easier way to implement this is to eat 250 calories less and exercise 250 calories more. From the exercise and calories burned chart which uses the approximate calories burned per hour by a 150 pound woman, the calories per hour are:

Walking, 3 miles per hour--280 calories
Dancing, ballroom--260 calories
Tennis--350+ calories
Aerobics--450 calories
Jogging--500 calories
Swimming, active--500 calories
Cycling, studio--650 calories
Running--700 calories

How I Lost Weight Day Four

I dislike the word "diet" because it sounds like deprivation to me. Food is one of God's greatest gifts and is meant to be enjoyed. Food is the basic reward for many people. So begin noticing when you are eating emotionally and drink more water before the food.

When you are feeling emotional, you need to drink as much water or other liquids as you can to delay the eating. If you aren't hungry anymore which is what will happen, give yourself permission to eat the food later when you are hungry. This is a trick I learned while quitting smoking.

I quit smoking 15 years ago by never saying I couldn't have a cigarette. Instead I learned to delay the decision to smoke or not until a later time. By delaying smoking, I generally forgot to smoke. After the time of not smoking grows, returning to smoking never seemed like a good idea when I was rational and not emotional.

Measurement will be today's focus for how I lost weight. Measuring your food every time that you eat will be a huge key to your losing weight and keeping it off. When I don't measure for a few days, I get on the scale to see if I've gained weight. If I have, I return to my modified fast.

My modified fast is drinking liquids for as long as I can before I begin eating solids for that day. Remember to always have an assortment of liquids available with no calories. The choices are: (1) water with Real Lemon added or plain will be the liquid that helps you the most--make the water with more or less lemon depending on your taste, (2) always have flavored waters with no calories in your refrigerator, (3) no calorie sodas for when all else fails, and (4) I keep a 2 quart pitcher half frozen from the night before so that regular, cold water can be a choice as well as my separate 16/32 oz. water. Make your water selection as attractive as you do your fruits or vegetables.

Water is one of your best friends in weight management. Your second best friend is the cup measurements that you have available. Use these equivalents for measure: 1 pound=16 ounces, 1 ounce=28.35 grams, 3 teaspoons=1 tablespoon, 4 tablespoons=1/4 cup, 8 tablespoons=1/2 cup,
16 tablespoons=1 cup, 1 cup=1/2 pint, 4 cups=quart, 1 pound=500 grams, and ¼ pound=125 grams.

For food and/or calories, we use the following sites:

(1) How many calories are you eating to stay at your present weight? As a basic rule of thumb the calories you need per day are:

Women: 2000
Men: 2500

However this of course varies depending on how active you are. The basal metabolic rate calculator, gives your base calories required then adds a lifestyle percentage to give an indication of how many calories you as an individual need per day.

http://www.thecolumn.org/how-many-calories-do-i-need.asp

(2) Nutritional value:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/NutritionalChart.htm

(3) Food charts:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/FoodLabels.htm

How I Lost Weight Day Three

Day 3-Daily Salad

I began the slow process to find out what I liked among the lower-calorie dressings. Imagine my surprise that I could make my own dressing of 16 ounces for 180 calories for the whole thing. That averages out to about 12 calories per tablespoon.

Quite a difference from the huge amount of 500 calories that I had been eating! At the same time, I realized that the lettuce salads weren't giving me much in nutrition. So I researched the salads online and came upon a Greek salad with no lettuce that I modified. I now use Paul Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger (very tart-the way I like it). I can have ¼ cup for 70 cal.-1/2 cup for 140 cal.-3/4 cup for 210 cal.-and 1 cup for 280 cal. (if I decide to have salad for a meal--I do like to chew.)

My Greek Salad (that I have most days): small sweet tomatoes, crumbled Feta cheese, sliced black olives, cucumbers, red peppers, red onions, and anything else I choose. I make sure to have all the ingredients on hand so I don't run out. I need to chew everyday in order to enjoy food. The dressing that I created is 32 oz. of balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp. of Dijon mustard, 3-4 oz. of lemon juice, and 3-5 tablespoons of Splenda. The whole recipe makes over a pint and is 200 calories for the whole recipe. So 2 tablespoons of my dressing is 12 calories. My dressing is so strong that I don't need much. But if I used 8 tablespoons as I did in February I would still be using 50 calories instead of 500.

I sometimes use only one of the better lettuce blends (I especially like Dole's Hearts Delight--romaine, green leaf, and butter lettuce hearts). I also enjoy Raspberry Vinaigrette (Kraft: 2 T.= 60 calories or Good Seasons: 2 T.=60 calories).

Basic Food and Calorie Counters

The food and calorie counters recommended by the Changemaker High Energy Weight Loss Plan are:

1) For a great list of calorie burned calculators; Martindale's Calculators On-Line Center: Part I:I-N - Nutrition. It also includes energy calculators including one site that estimates the energy expended in over 600 different activities. The KCAL-CULATOR is in the runner’s web and allows you to estimate your energy needs.

2) For nutrition tips for being athletic in helping to gauge your energy needs: Nutrition on the Move - Nutrition Tips.

3) Calorie Counter helps you calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) and has many tips about diets available and the foods to eat.

4) “If you’ve looking for information on cutting calories and fat in your diet, achieving a healthy weight, or favorite low-calories, reduced-fat foods and beverages (and the ingredients that make them possible)…you’ve come to the right place!” The Calorie Control Council - Information on cutting calories and fat and achieving a healthy weight.

5) From the Food Network online, explains how to manage your weight in three simple equations: Get Healthy : Low Calorie : What are Low Calorie Diets? : Food Network.

6) Quick Guide to Calorie Needs When Losing Weight has many resources explained such as good protein, good fat, how to reduce calories, general diet nutrition, healthy vegetarianism, etc.

7) Self magazine has fitness calculators divided into three sections: get your best body, eat right, and burning calories. Caloric Needs Calculator in Fitness on SELF.com.

8) For another BMI (Body Mass Index), Basal Metabolic Rate calculator use, lifestyle activity, and other weight loss help, use How Many Calories Do I Need? - basal metabolic rate calculator.

How I Lost Weight Day Two

Day 2: Water
After I decided to see how long it took for my body to tell me I was hungry, I started a modified fast. I call it modified because I ate some food. At the beginning, I chose to add more water to my diet. Plain water is boring to me after the first day, so I added 1/3 cup or ¼ cup of Real Lemon to my 2 quart pitchers. I now use those individual packets to add to bottles of water. I bought the pitchers I use at Target and they are narrow and fit in my freezer. I was filling them half full and freezing them for the next day.

After awhile, I changed from the pitchers to freezing half bottles of the Real Lemon mix. The last thing I do in the evening is to make sure that my pitcher is in the refrigerator to get cold for the next day. In the morning I add Real Lemon to the pitcher and begin drinking my lemon water. I save the flavored water for the evening as the evenings are the time I do my emotional eating. The Diet sparkling water has natural fruit flavors and is O calories. You can buy it at WalMart, Winn Dixie or Publix grocery stores. I vary the store and the flavor to keep from getting bored with the flavor.

Presently I use 16.9 fl.oz. Propel (reuse these) and reuse Volvic 33.8 fl.oz. At the beginning of the day, I put 4-5 bottles in the freezer so they will be cold when I wnat them. I usually move them over to the refrigerator --hopefully, before they freeze. I use these 2 brands because they are light blue and the Propel has a wider mouth if I wnat to add some ice. I drink water all day--with and without other liquids.

On the second day through the next five days, I focused on keeping an exact count of the calories I was consuming. I found one of my downfalls was the calorie count in my salad dressing. When I began my food program in February, I was eating a lot of those lettuce blends and cutting up celery, onions, and carrots to add to the salad. I was using a balsamic vinaigrette loaded with olive oil. I had been using as much as I wanted because I thought the calories in the dressing couldn't be that important. So by eating my healthy, good-for-me salad, I was using about 8 tablespoons after I started measuring it for a whopping 500 calories--for salad!

So I began a search for a salad that I would want to eat everyday.

How I Lost Weight Day One

The High Energy Diet that I created in February, 2006, is the result of 15 years of studying and applying good nutritional habits. I have eaten basically the healthiest foods since I moved to Florida in 1983. But I ate too much of the right foods.

Having quit drinking in 1976 and smoking in 1989, I have been thinking about losing weight for over 10 years. Obviously, I haven't been working at it too hard. The hardest part of giving up an addiction is making the decision to give it up. Years ago, I learned that you leave an addiction when the pain outweighs the pleasure. I don't know what made me decide in February, 2006, to lose weight.

I started working around the foods that I don't want to live without. These include any kind of pasta, any kind of hard bread, and any Italian dish. I later added chocolate as a necessity. My husband and I almost always eat at home. He hasn't weighted more that 157 pounds in the fifteen years we've been together. At 6'2", he has the exact frame that I would like. I, on the other hand, was 40 pounds overweight.

Many of the books that helped me to formulate my weight loss plan are in the Changemaker Library. One of the first to help me to get my thinking about food off quantity and on to portions was The 7 Secrets of Slim People. The main idea I kept from that book was to not eat unless I was physically hungry. I couldn't remember the last time my body and not my mind told me I "wanted something". My mind is so devious that I told myself I would faint if I went without food for any period of time. I decided to change what and when I ate so I started a food journal. Armed with Barbara Kraus's Carbohydrates and Calories, I wrote down everything I ate for five days.

The High Energy Diet

“The concept of energy and the flow of that energy in the human body is the core of the current explosion in healing. The healing principle is to “balance” the energy in the body by using relaxation to counter the body’s reaction to stress.” The Berkeley Holistic Health Center

The High Energy Diet integrates all the tools for living a healthy, balanced life. Many times busy people will see or read something that they would love to integrate into their lives. They also lack the time to plan and execute a total health plan.

The High Energy Diet includes food/diet choices, exercise choices, and emotional/mental techniques for stress reduction. All the pre-tests, measurements, references for each of the three categories (diet, exercise, and emotional/mental tools) are given.

We have spent 30 years researching, enjoying, and implementing self-help, exercise, diet, nutrition, spiritual, emotional, mental, psychology and addiction books. Our central focus is on holistic healing—mind, body and soul. So the High Energy Diet includes the books we have found to have become our “textbooks”.

These books are incorporated in our Changemaker Library. Our goal is that each person using the High Energy Diet can create and continually change her/his health plan. Health takes effort to maintain. Each of us knows what we need to attain our highest level of health.

The real secret to weight loss is portion control. That is the main reason diet companies sell the food with the diet. The portions are regulated and controlled. For portin control, learn to use measuring cups and spoons to correctly choose the right portion. Some suggested portions are included in an article in South Florida Sun-Sentinel January 21, 2008 article.

The newspaper lists the following comparisons.(1) 3 ounces of meat/fish (about the size of a deck of cards), (2) 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (the size of a golf ball), (3) 1-1 1/2 ounces of cheese (the size of three dominoes, (4) 1 piece of whole fruit (the size of a tennis ball), (5) 1 cup of milf (one serving fills a regular coffee cup), (6) 1/2 cup of cooked pasta ( one serving fills a cupcake liner), and (7) 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables (about the size of a yo-yo). 

Food Measurement Links

To learn servicing sizes: http://www.myfooddiary.com/resources/estimating_serving_sizes.asp

Counting calories: http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=http://www.labpixies.com/campaigns/calories/calories.xml&source=clhc

Calories burned during exercise: http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm

What does 200 calorie look like: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm

How many calories in fruit:

http://www.weightlossforall.com/calories-fruit.htm

Free diet and weight loss journal: http://www.fitday.com/

Nutrition facts and calorie counter:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/

Virtual health library:

http://campushealth.unc.edu/content/blogsection/13/65/

Complete activity calorie calculator:

http://www.primusweb.com/cgi-bin/fpc/actcalc.pl

1200 and 1500 calorie diets using the USDA food pyramid showing the correct percentages of protein, carbohydrates,

fats, diary, fruit, vegetables and starch needed daily:

http://walking.about.com/cs/walkoflife/a/dietportions.htm

Food nutrient database:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/nutrient.htm