Healthy_Eating_Plan_X1

Healthy Eating Plane The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, and with any machine, what goes in it to make it function, determines how well it functions. Following a healthy eating regiment is essential for your body from the hair on your head, down to your toe nails. The key to a healthy diet is moderation, and variety, this keeps the body from overloading on one food type and being deprived of another. A person can be overweight, or even obese, and still suffer from malnutrition; additionally a person who looks slim may not eat a healthy diet. The five food types are grains, vegetables, meat and beans, milk, and fruits. Each person has a different recommended quantity of these groups depending on their age, gender, and activity level. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s website Mypyramid.gov, my daily calorie intake should be 2,000, and I was shocked to see my average calorie intake was 1,700, furthermore, on one of the days I did not consume any milk. Having made note of the foods that were consumed for three days, made me acutely aware of how little I eat. During the working week my day starts with a slice of toast and a cup of coffee, I eat a sandwich for lunch, peanut butter and jelly, or ham, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, and the evening meal includes pasta, rice, potatoes, soup, chicken or beef. I can see how my current eating habits do not have the consistency that is required to maintain a healthy diet. My diet does not include many fried foods, nor does it include fast food on a regular basis. My milk intake was only 3.4 cups, and the recommended amount is nine cups. In the food group meant and beans I consumed 7.7 ounces, which is 10 ounces less than recommended. I was seven cups below the recommended consumption of vegetables, four cups below the recommended amount of fruit. My grains intake was the closest to the recommended amount, which was 17.3 ounces, and the recommended amount is 20 ounces. The nutritional recommendations based on my customized food pyramid results, emphasized the quantities of each of the food groups to be consumed, and also how to vary the vegetables and protein products. It is recommended that I consume 6 ounces of grains daily, of which three ounces should be whole grains. My vegetable intake should be a variety of dark green, orange, dry beans and peas, starchy or other vegetables, and averaging to 2.5 cups daily. Daily I should eat 2 cups of fruit, and drink three cups of milk, preferably low-fat, or fat-free. The protein obtained from meat and beans amounts to 5.5 ounces daily, and it is recommended to opt for low-fat meat or poultry, and varying the protein intake by eating fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds. From the cereal, bread, rice and pasta consumed in my current diet, I receive B vitamins, fiber, iron, magnesium, and complex carbohydrates. The function of B vitamins is to provide energy metabolism, iron is required to form hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the heart, and zinc is required for cell reproductions and tissue growth. Magnesium is needed for healthy bones and teeth. The vegetables and fruit that I eat provide vitamin A, C, potassium, and foliate. The functions of vitamin A is similar to zinc as it aids cell growth, additionally it is key to healthy hair and skin. Vitamin C is needed for healthy teeth, gums and blood vessels, and builds up resistance to infection. Foliate helps normal digestion and helps develop red blood cells. Potassium maintains the balance of fluid in the body, and muscle functions including the heart muscle. The milk and cheese I consumed has vitamin D, which builds healthy teeth and bones, and the chicken I ate has protein, vitamin B2, or Riboflavin; protein is required for healthy red blood cells, it also helps fight infections and repairs body tissue, B12 helps energy metabolism and building tissue. The nutrient-rich foods in my current diet are cheese, oranges, bananas, and chicken. The nutrient-lacking foods in my diet are rice and bread. The rice is white and although it does have some nutrients, brown rice would be better, as with the bread, my diet varies from whole grain, to brown, to white. White bread is not as nutritious as the brown or whole grain bread. For my healthy eating plan I am going to substitute the slice of toast at breakfast for a bowl of whole grain cereal. I will use low-fat milk and also add at least a cup of fruit. My lunches will consist of sandwiches made with whole grain bread; I will vary the contents using tomato, lettuce, green peppers, turkey slices, cheese, cucumber, and peanut butter. Extra fruit will be eaten at lunch time or as an afternoon snack. Additionally, I will make up a mix of nuts and raisins to snack on during the day. I will measure the mix into cups and keep them in bags to make it easier to track exact amounts consumed, this will ensure I do not over or under eat the recommended daily intake. The most planning will be for the evening meals, to provide the nutrients that are recommended, and also make sure it is a plan that fits both my lifestyle and budget. I intend to eat pasta and rice twice a week; the pasta dish will have a homemade tomato sauce, with garlic, green peppers, and onions. The rice dish will be with chicken, carrots, and peas. I intend to have fish twice a week; the fish will be grilled and accompanied with steamed broccoli and potatoes. I will have a meal that will include ground beef, such as home-made chili, loaded with kidney beans and tomatoes, and I may accompany it with brown rice, or have grated cheese with it. I will also have salads using sliced carrots, and substitute the lettuce with spinach, to accompany the salad, I will have a baked potato, and I will use both sweet potatoes and ordinary potatoes. To accommodate the necessity for beans in my diet, one of my meals will be baked beans on toast, with a poached egg on top, the bread will be brown bread. I also intend to drink more water, with every meal I will consume a glass of water, and aim to consume an additional bottle of water during the day. To make this plan successful, I intend to shop for these meals, I will then have a list of each meal per day laid-out for the week. All snack foods will be measured and put into Ziploc bags, and I intend to have a chart on the refrigerator to keep track of the plan. I will work in the lower maintenance meals with the weekly schedule of my family. Writing down the exact foods one eats highlights the quantities and types that are consumed. Having a system like mypyramidtracker makes it easy to see where my diet is failing, and as a person who has always been physically fit, it is apparent that many of the foods I consumer can easily be replaced with foods that will be more beneficial to my health. Understanding the function of each food group, and incorporating the five groups in a balanced and varied diet will be essential for my health today and in the future. Keeping a variety of different meal choices will help the plan become a way of life, rather than a diet that leaves you craving for foods. Moderation is key, and although a healthy eating plan is good for the body, it does not mean that ice cream should be omitted; however, eating ice cream five times a day is not a healthy option. Implementing a healthy eating plan is an investment into my future, as it will provide the correct nutrients for my body to function properly. Not only does it help the organs of the body operate easily, it also shows in your nails, skin, and hair. The body will give signs when it is deprived of certain nutrients, such as white spots on fingernails is a calcium deficiency. Only one person decides what feeds this machine, and if I want it to run at its maximum efficiency, for the longest time, it is up to me to provide the correct maintenance. cups 5 1/2 ounces