Its been a challege sticking with it. But, now I'm ready to start thinking about limiting sodium and fat intake. Although I probably have already been doing this...when I cut back some of my calories.
But I was wondering if anyone had any good numbers on how many grams of fat and sodium you should have in a daily diet...
Sorry, but I don't know about grams, etc...I've never counted them. BUT...I can tell you the following:
1. Trim the fat off your red meat and limit to no more than once per week
2. Choose lean cuts of other meats like pork and always trim excess fat
3. When eating chicken, stick with breasts and trim fat (an occasional leg or thigh is ok)
4. Don't add fat to your starch (quinoa, brown rice, etc.)
5. Don't add fat to your veggies (steamed is best)
6. Avoid processed foods (for the most part)
7. Don't eat fat substitutes in your meals...use the REAL THING, just use less of it. (ex. mashed potatoes - instead of using a whole stick, use 2 tbsp)
To these things and keep your calories at around 1700 avg for the week, and you will lose fat.
Why stress out over grams? It's really unnecessary although alot of people do it. I'd rather stay focused on how delishous breakfast/lunch/dinner is going to taste.
Last edited by joyfulloser; 06-21-2011 at 12:09 PM.
I agree with joyfullloser - don't worry about it. If you are getting 5-7 fruits and veggies per day and not adding fat to things, you'll be fine. Our brains actually NEED fat to function properly. Consider joining a website like myfitnesspal or sparkpeople and plugging in your info for a suggestion on macronutrients. As far as sodium is concerned - be aware that anything pre-packaged (like frozen meals, canned soups, or boxed dinners) are KILLER on sodium.
Sodium is also something you may or may not have to watch. If you're eating tons of junk food and eating 10 times the RDA (which is 2000 mg) or if you have high blood sugar that reacts to sodium then yeah. Otherwise, drinking extra water to flush the salt, and eating foods high in potassium, may be all you have to do (you want potassium and sodium to be in balance).
Even some people with high blood sugar do not react adversely to sodium (I'm one of those lucky ones. My body tends to flush sodium more easily than others. My doctor says it's because of my specific blood pressure medication, the fact that I eat relatively lower sodium because of taste preference, I may eat more higher potassium foods, and perhaps just a quirk of my body).
While I'm not a salt fan (I virtually never use the salt shaker at the table, and when I cook I always cut the salt by half or more), I'm still sure I get more than the 2000 mg RDA, just because I eat a few processed foods (not tons, but a few), and use a few seasonings that contain salt.
If you're cutting out or reducing junk foods and other processed foods, and you don't have high blood pressure, you're probably find (just remember extra salt, extra potassium and water).
I personally love counting calories through an exchange plan, because it builds in balance (it's still calorie counting because each of the exchanges within an exchange category are very similar in calorie count. There's more leeway in the protein exchanges, but unless you pick the fattiest choices all the time, it tends to balance out). To make it even more balanced, I try not to go on food jags, choosing the same foods to satisfy the exchanges. Instead, I try to eat as much variety within the exchanges - for example not eating the same vegetable (or color vegetable) for every vegetable choice.
The exception is milk. I'm not very creative with the milk exchanges, because I'm not overly fond of milk. When it comes to the milk exchange, I generally choose from three: skim milk, low-fat yogurt (or greek yogurt), and sardines (because they contain more protein and as long as you eat the bones and skin, more calcium than milk.
Most exchange plans don't count sardines as dairy, but in the last exchange plan WW had, any food with 20% or more calcium could count towards your dairy, so I've kept that practice, because I'm not a dairy fan.
Also, I recommend the book The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition: How to Buy, Store, and Prepare Every Variety of Fresh Food by Sheldon Margen M.D. and University of California at Berkeley
You can check it out from your library (or have your library order it) or buy an older copy on amazon.com for under $12, (I bought mine from a thrift store for $3).
There are other similar books even cheaper on amazon. The encyclopedia style makes it easy to use (you look up foods within each category alphabetically - so all the veggies are together, and the first listing is for artichokes.
When I first got it, I read it cover to cover (because I'm a total nerd, but also it was fun to read about all the different foods).
You are correct...we do need healthy fats like butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc., but in small amounts (ergo my mention on lowering the use of butter in mashed potatoes).
I guess I didn't place emphasis on including fat in her diet, cuz most of us got here by eating too much fat. It's really not something that most of us have to "intentionally" focus on...but definitely FAT (in moderation) should be included in any healthy diet.
On the topic of "healthy" fats. There is misinformation being purported that BUTTER is somehow unhealthy. These are probably the same folk that had us once believing that coconut oil was heart attack in a bottle! Natural fats are actually best for us...it's the hydrogenated stuff that's an artery clogger! The "I can't believe its NOT butter", while not hydrogenated is so processed and only 20-30 calories less than actual butter. Not to mention that a little bit of BUTTER goes a LONG way in taste and flavor.
I have to focus on healthy fats I need to up my HDL so olive oil, avocados, fish, nuts etc have to be factored into my diet plan. One good thing, it leaves little room for me to eat anything that isn't 100% good for me!
Actually Exercise 3-4 days a week for a minimum of 30 mins will do raise your good cholesterol and help lower the bad stuff. I know...my cholesterol was 330 September 2010, and in March or April of this year I got it tested again and it was 220, with low risk ratios. My doctor told me that running (or any regular exercise) is the BEST thing that a person can do to lower their risk of heart disease.
I do workout for 30 minutes minimum daily now and I hope that will help. Also the GNC lean shakes are oat based which should help as well. Plus eating the healthy fats. My total cholesterol was slightly under 200 but my triglycerides were high and my HDL was low so... well... that's not healthy at all.
Everything else, except weight, was great. Blood sugar under 80, BP 100/70. Just those pesky lipids in all forms! LOL
how do I balance out nutrition...
Natural fats are actually best for us...it's the hydrogenated stuff that's an artery clogger! The "I can't believe its NOT butter", while not hydrogenated is so processed and only 20-30 calories less than actual butter. Not to mention that a little bit of BUTTER goes a LONG way in taste and flavor.
I need to up my HDL so olive oil, avocados, fish, nuts etc have to be factored into my diet plan. One good thing, it leaves little room for me to eat anything that isn't 100% good for me!
