September 8, 2021
Day 56
I’ve been taking an on-line course about healthy behavior change to brush up on the latest science. One of the stats mentioned was that 0.0% of U. S. adults actually eat the “recommended” USDA diet with the balance of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, low sugar, etc. 0.0%!!! Talk about being human and not perfect. Not that the USDA has the perfect diet for us either, but they do have some good “guidelines”, but obviously we are not achieving these benchmarks.
One of the things that I teach in the national CDC diabetes prevention program course is how to balance your day according to the USDA guidelines. It’s really tough (as the 0.0% shows), but a good exercise to try. Do you meet these? Exceed them? Hit right on target?
Try tracking your balance and see how it goes. Here’s what is recommended:
5-8 ounces breads, cereals, rice, pasta
2-3 cups vegetables
1.5 – 2 cups fruit
3 cups milk, yogurt, cheese (I don’t get anywhere near this and it’s a story for another day)
3-6 ounces protein – meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts
Fats – limit to less than 25% of daily calories
Sweets, alcohol – limit to 10% of daily calories
What do you think of the guidelines?
Personally, I like to teach intuitive eating, but for many of my clients it’s important to have some guidelines as a starting point. I also don’t like to discuss calories, but for a short term, it can be educational to give perspective.
I’d love to know what you think!
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