Calories, Weight & Menu Planning
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We also like this easy Body Mass Index calculator which allows you to measure your body fat based on your height and weight.
When assessing calories and planning meals, there is a difference between "portion" and "serving"-- read about this difference by clicking here.
Of course, the impact of different foods--even of the same proportions, calorie count, and ratio of protein to fat to carbohydrate--are not the same on your body. One of the ways to protect from unnecessary weight gain, as well as keep your blood sugar steady, is to select foods with a low glycemic index (GI). Read about GLYCEMIC INDEX to learn how you can improve your food choices. Consult the GI DATABASE to calculate the glycemic index of individual foods.
The Whole Grains Council offers the following tips on making substitutions that will instantly improve the nutritional value of meals:
o In your regular recipes for baked sweets, substitute half of the white flour with whole wheat flour.
o Add half a cup of cooked bulgar, wild rice or barley to stuffing.
o Eat more tabbouleh and other whole grain salads!
o Enrich your favorite canned soups with a half cup of cooked wheat or rye berries, wild rice, brown rice or sorghum.
o Buy whole grain pastas, or even one of the part whole-grain, part white blends.
o Use whole corn meal in your cornbread recipe.
o Try breakfast cereals with grains like kamut, kasha (buckwheat) or spelt listed first on the ingredient list.
o As a side dish for grilled steaks, chicken, or pork, substitute your regular rice pilaf for a brown rice or amaranth pilaf prepared the same way.
And, of course, we highly recommend that you bless your food with prayer, thanking our Heavenly Father for the abundance we are privileged to enjoy.
Here is another important recommendation.....
When shopping for groceries, be sure to check that they do NOT contain ANY of the following:
Sodium nitrite (meats)
Monosodium glutamate (soups)
Aspartame (diet foods)
Yeast extract (snacks)
Hydrogenated oils
High-fructose corn syrup