Balance and Moderation – Eat to Feel Good!
I hope you enjoy Starting from Scratch, my second book, published each week online, one chapter at a time. Before the book’s final publication, I hope to sprinkle readers’ thoughts, opinions and advice throughout. After all, you each have helpful systems and solutions in the kitchen worth sharing. By making a contribution, your comments will be printed, crediting you and/or your blog, and you’ll get free copies of the book. In addition, for each section, I’m consulting an expert blogger – for this excerpt, it’s Karen Evans, author of Fitness: A Journey Not a Destination.
Admittedly, I am a sucker for variety in every aspect of life, with food no exception to the rule. Mixing things up pleases the palette and keeps customers coming back for more. As much as I love my husband’s turkey chili and chicken stir fry, I simply can’t eat these dishes every week.
I’m also a BIG believer in moderation and B-A-L-A-N-C-E, whether planning meals, preparing the grocery list, or standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering what-the-heck to make for dinner. Not only does this help stabilize insulin levels, but it keeps the day’s energy supply more consistent. For these reasons, I’m not an advocate of the Atkins all-protein diet or a low-carb diet that’s too low on healthy, complex carbohydrates, even despite recent research suggesting cholesterol reduction.
To achieve this goal, I try to avoid an all-grain breakfast or a no-protein lunch. Another great suggestion from Karen is to graze throughout the day. “Instead of eating 3 large meals, I like to eat about 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Because I’m eating more frequently, I’m less hungry and I tend to make better food choices. Research indicates that eating frequently, about every 2.5-3 hours, charges up the metabolism and helps us to maintain our level of energy throughout the day. No more afternoon crashes!”
Since I rarely, if ever, remember the exact number of helpings of each food type recommended by the USDA, I opt instead on broad food groups and a basic understanding of what groups benefit my body in which ways. Then I take a look at recommendations on a percentage basis of total calories consumed, and go from there.
Understanding basic food group benefits
Carbohydrates. In a nutshell, carbohydrates are our body’s fuel. Enzymes in our digestive tracts break down carbohydrates into simple sugars, so we get energy – fast. Complex carbohydrates are thought to benefit digestion as well. Examples of foods high in carbohydrates include: grains (e.g., oatmeal, rice), bread, fruit and starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn.
Protein. Protein provides energy, too; it’s simply a slower process than with carbs. Protein also helps build and repair muscle, which is especially beneficial after workouts. Examples of foods high in protein include: meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products (e.g., cheese and eggs), beans and nuts.
Fat. Fats are our energy reserve; and they fill and satisfy us, too. Though high in calories, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats have a number of health benefits, such as the reduction of heart disease. Examples of foods high in fat include: Nuts, cooking oils (e.g., olive), fatty fish, avocadoes and olives.
Nutrients, such as calcium, found in dairy products can help younger bones and keep older bones from breaking.
Knowing how much of what to eat
Dietary recommendations aren’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. Depending on factors such as our gender, weight, height, age and activity level, our requirements will vary. The USDA provides an interactive calculation to determine our needs, but a loose guideline is:
• 45% to 65% of calories eaten should come from carbohydrates
• 20% to 35% of calories eaten should come from fat
• 10% to 35% of calories eaten should come from protein
Now remember, these are rough guidelines, and these calories should come from as many good sources of food as possible. For example, if 20% of our daily diet is derived from fat, that doesn’t mean each gram should come from cookies! In addition, we should exercise, limit our alcohol intake and get adequate dietary fiber (current USDA recommendation is 14 grams for every 1000 calories consumed).
If you don’t like to count
I’m not a big fan of counting calories, nor is Karen. Here’s an alternative strategy she recommends:
Instead of counting calories, I like to use a few principals I learned from a book called “Body for Life.” The author, Bill Phillips, recommends a few simple rules of thumb when eating your 5-6 meals. For instance, he recommends that a serving of meat should be roughly the size and thickness of the palm of your hand. He also suggests using your clenched fist to gauge portion sizes for things like a piece of fruit or a serving of cottage cheese. I like this tip because it doesn’t require measuring.
A second principle of the BFL program is to combine a protein and carb at each mini-meal. Protein is vital to building muscle and to developing and maintaining a strong immune system. Protein tends to make us feel satiated more so than when we eat just carbs.
Keeping it balanced
Going back to my theory of B-A-L-A-N-C-E, at meal-time, I try to grab a variety of food groups. And though breakfast can be the most problematic for me, getting 2-3 in a given meal setting helps me manage caloric intake, nutrient consumption and, more importantly, feel good.
Here are a few examples:
• As much as I love eating eggs (= protein; yolk is high-fat, whites are low-fat) for breakfast, I also have high cholesterol and don’t have the luxury of consuming them every morning. Using a single yolk in combination with a couple of whites is a great way to circumvent the high cholesterol issue, or at least minimize it. I also like adding a little cheese (=diary) and lean meat like turkey or ham (=protein).
• Also for breakfast, a big bowl of oatmeal (= carb) is also a welcome dish to warm me up, but leaves me out of gas if I don’t eat it in combination with other food groups, such as whole grain toast with a slab of peanut butter (= carb + protein). I also like to top the oats with walnuts (= good fat) and blueberries (= fruit).
• I liked eating sandwiches for lunch, so I think whole grain bread (= carb) + lean turkey (= protein) and tomatoes/lettuce (= veggies). I’m still a little low on veggies and need some fruit, too, but this gets me started. I try not to fill in the miss gaps with potato chips (except when someone forces a bag of vinegar and salt Kettle chips in front of me).
• Also for lunch, a nice alternative to the turkey sandwich might be a black bean quesadilla. Black beans (=carb, protein and other nutrients) + corn or flour tortilla (whole grain if possible = carb) + tomatoes and lettuce (= veggie) + a little cheese (=dairy) is a meal that tastes great and provides energy, too.
• For dinner, I always try to have a balance of protein (e.g., chicken, beef, fish) + veggie (broccoli, asparagus, or anything else I have in my kitchen) + grain/carb (usually brown rice, sweet potato or something along these lines). Too much pasta or pizza = too much carb and not enough of everything else.
Though my dietary recommendations may not be suitable for someone with a health issue, and are not meant to be strict guidelines fully blessed by a health professional, I use them as broad guidelines for eating well. If I keep my diet balanced (and my life too, for that matter), I maintain my weight easily while feeling good all the while.
Buy a healthy mix
If you are list challenged or not the plan-every-meal-in-advance type, you may wish to balance out your weekly shopping list. If you stock up on a variety of the following items, even if you haven’t laid out every meal for the week, you’ll have a nice stock of healthy ingredients, across all the major food groups, from which to create healthy meals.
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Fresh or frozen vegetables (avoid canned, which have added sodium and preservatives), preferably fresh is you plan to eat them soon
- Low-fat dairy like milk (organic if you can swing it!), yogurt, cheese
- Organic eggs
- Fresh wild-caught fish and shellfish
- Lean cuts of meats like turkey, chicken, pork, lamb, and beef (watch out for deli cuts that are high in sodium)
- Brown rice, plain oatmeal, and other whole grains like barley and quinoa
- Whole-wheat breads and pastas and whole-grain cereals (just watch the ingredient lists on the latter to tally the sugar grams)
- Legumes like beans, peas, and lentils
- Seeds and nuts
- Oils high in unsaturated fatty acids like olive, canola, safflower and sunflower
About Karen Evans
Karen Evans is the author of the inspiring and informative blog, Fitness: A Journey Not a Destination. Karen majored in Public Administration/Community Service, but at the age of 37, was inspired to start a career in the field of health and wellness. That is what led her to attend massage therapy school and become licensed to practice. She is a wife and mother of two on a journey to lead the healthiest life possible through exercise and nutrition. She firmly believes we can all lead healthier lives if we have the desire to do so. She maintains her own health and well-being while helping others do the same.
[...] a balanced diet. If you eat crap, you’ll feel that way – all day. More balance means more macronutrients to break down and give you long-lasting energy. The USDA provides an [...] 
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I was just thinking about the food pyramid today. And wondering how many calories I would ingest if I ate all they recommend. Because right now I certainly get in way less grains and fruits. Food for thought for me.
Great post, thanks for putting these concepts into bits that we can all understand and use without pulling out a scale and measuring every little bit of food that enters our bodies…and I’m totally with you on balancing things out!
[...] a balanced diet. If you eat crap, you’ll feel that way – all day. More balance means more macronutrients to break down and give you long-lasting energy. The USDA provides an [...]