Sunday, March 27, 2011

Double Up for Weight Loss Success

In my last post I talked about the importance of eating vegetables and not hiding them for long-term weight loss success.

Most Americans just don't get their quota of veggies--by a long shot!

How low is our intake of vegetables (if you don't count potatoes*)
...the average American gets a total of just three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day (2½ to 6½ cups per day), depending on one's caloric intake. (1) For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4½ cups per day (2 cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables).
~ source: Harvard School of Public Health


So what is a cup of vegetables? For many vegetables a "cup" is the same as a 1 cup measurement, but for leafy vegetables like lettuce if you are eating them raw then a cup serving should really be 2 measured cups to account for all the space created by the leafy vegetables.

  • Having trouble getting in enough vegetables?
  • Tired of eating like a rabbit?

Here's a weight loss tip for you:

Rather than forcing yourself to eat mondo salads each and every day, get more vegetables in your meals by doubling up the quantity your recipes call for!

Most of our recipes rely too heavily on meat and potatoes, with light attention to our vegetables. If you are making a stew for example you can stretch out the servings by bumping up the veggie content. Start by doubling the vegetables and then adjust from there. I find many recipes I can triple the vegetable content and be quite happy!

This will helping your weight loss success and let your dollars stretch further, too!


*Don't count potatoes as a vegetable. While potatoes have some great nutritional and fiber value, they are much higher in sugar content. Use potatoes as you would rice or pasta or bread--sparingly--to keep your blood sugar and waist line under control.

2 comments:

Susan Kersley said...

At last I've found a blog which echoes my own thoughts about changing mindset and weight loss. Thank you.
My experience has been that I lose weight when content and put it on when distressed.

Laurie Tossy said...

Susan--

Thanks for your kind words.

For those of us who are emotional eaters our challenge then is to develop tools that enable us to handle our emotions, like distress, in healthier ways.

To your healthy, energetic, slender body--you deserve it!