Challenge To Eat Balanced
 

I'm having trouble finding the right balance in my eating and calorie consumption. It's one thing to meet my calorie goals per day but it's another to fill them properly with the right amount of fruits, veggies, dairy, etc. Some days I get fruits but no veggies. Some days I get dairy but no grains. I pulled out my (don't laugh!) Richard Simmons Deal-A-Meal notes to use a guideline for how I should distribute my foods. Even if I don't meet all the "servings", I'd at least like my intake to be "balanced", if that makes sense.

This is what I'm using as my personal guideline:
Dairy - 2
Fats (preferably "healthy" fats) - 3
Veggies - 4
Fruit - 4
Protein - 4
Grains - 5 - 3 "Whole" (or 48 grams worth), 2 "Other"
Water - 8

Tomorrow I start putting some real effort in to finding the balance and thought posting publicly would hold me more accountable.

Anybody who is having trouble with balance or lacking in any particular food group, please feel free to join me. I'd love some company and encouragement! :)

I'm in! I've only been counting calories for a little less than two weeks and I also need balance. I'm thinking 4-5 vegetables, 4 fruit, 4-5 protein, 2 whole grains, 64 oz water and 2-3 fats. I'm undecided about dairy, so I bought some unsweetened almond milk for first time today. Am I missing anything?

For better or worse, I never worry about balance from day to day. As long as I have a reasonable balance of nutrients within a given week, I figure I'm good. If I veer away from my "keep it simple, stupid" motto I invariably run into trouble.

Freelance
blog: www.englishgrammargripe.com

Hey Jennifer! Thanks for joining me!

FLM - I totally understand the K.I.S.S.!!

I'm off to a good start this morning. Told myself I couldn't have my morning iced coffee until I drank a smoothie. Ran 2 oranges, 2 apples and a handful of spinach through the Vitamix then split it with DH. Then I had a piece of Arnold Whole Grain toast. The Whole Grains Council recommends 48 grams per day and one slice of the Arnold bread has 22 grams so I'm already half way there as far as gram consumption goes. :)

Still haven't had my iced coffee yet and I'm missing it terribly. :(

That sounds like a great breakfast! So far I've only had a boiled egg and a cup of coffee, but I'm getting ready to cut up an apple and douse it with cinnamon as my mid morning snack. I should eat more in the am, but its hard for me. I also need to check what an actual serving consists of, so my tracking is accurate.

Yesterday was my healthiest and most balanced eating day so far. I was still under my calorie goal but I couldn't have eaten another bite. Ended up with:

Goal
Dairy - 2 - got 1
Fats (preferably "healthy" fats) - 3 - didn't count
Veggies - 4 - got 1.5
Fruit - 4 - got 2
Protein - 4 - got 2
Grains - 5 - 3 "Whole" (or 48 grams worth), 2 "Other" - got 3 whole grains for 78 grams + 1 other grain
Water - 8 - got 9

Today I am doing terribly!! Must try to recover before the end of the day!

One of the things I've brought with me from doing Ideal Protein is trying to have two cups of veggies and a salad at lunch and dinner. I always thought I ate a lot of veggies but I realized it wasn't nearly this much. There are some veggies, like turnip that are filling like potatoes but not as high carb. I didn't like the restricted low-carb aspect of IP, but am being careful to eat less of the starchy, white carbs and more veggies.

But, I'm still having the white stuff, just less of it. For breakfast today I had scrambled eggs and half of a bialy, instead of the whole thing. Had a smidge of butter on it and it made me happy! At dinner the other night I couldn't pass up the delicious garlic bread that came with my salad (and was the reason I ordered the salad), but I just ate half and enjoyed every bite.

Potscrubber: Way to go yesterday! I'm sure today will turn around.
I'm doing well. But my goals may have been a little lofty.
Goal
Veg 4-5 (5)
Fruit 4 (2)
Protein 4-5 (4)
Whole Grain 2 (3)
Fats 2-3 (3)
Water 64 oz (64)
I think the whole grains will be my biggest challenge. And I may have to adjust my fruit to 3.