Two primary factors have caused our weight gain. We eat too many calories, and we move too little. You can counter the ever burdensome weight gain issue for yourself and your family with simple changes in your diet. When you cover 50 to 65% of your plate with colorful vegetables and fruit, you get a vast amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and cancer fighting antioxidants and you minimize the excess calories your body doesn’t have the chance to burn, which results in excess fat and poor health.
Consider a couple of common American meals. A typical fast food burger meal has between 1100 and 1400 calories. A store bought chicken pot pie, with a roll and butter, and a can of soda has a calorie count of 950 calories.
Now consider how much fruit and how many vegetables you can get with this healthy portion of chicken and rice: 3 oz. chicken breast 140 calories, 1 cup of brown rice 230 calories; A medium size apple 70, a whole peach 80, two cups of lettuce 20, 1/2 cup of peas 60, 1/2 cup of carrots 35, 1/2 cup of corn 70, one whole green pepper 20, one sweet red pepper 20, one cup of cabbage 20, 1/2 cup of broccoli 20, half of melon cantaloupe 95, 1/2 cup of strawberries 45, and 10 grapes 35. This chicken and rice meal, with all these fruits and vegetables adds up to a total of 960 calories, about the same as the chicken pot pie meal and much less than the burger meal.
Clearly you cannot eat all these fruits and vegetable at once and you shouldn’t try. You should however, cover at least 50 - 65% of every plate with fruits and vegetables. Filling your plate with fruits and vegetables gives you numerous healthful benefits. This strategy alone will help you significantly cut back on calories and start winning the battle of the bulge. Go light on the calories as you go heavy on the fruits and vegetables.
