User's comments:
Morning meal:
Pronutro (whole wheat) and fat-free milk
Tea with Equal tablet and fat-free milk
Mid-morning:
1 slice low-GI bread
Tea with Equal tablet and fat-free milk
Lunch:
Green salad
2 slices low-GI bread
Chicken leg portion
1 apple
Supper:
Noodles
Chicken legs
Spinach
Banana and orange
2 litres of water
Expert's comments:
Thank you for your description. This is an excellent and balanced daily intake – well done!
You are meeting the recommended five-a-day in terms of fruit and vegetables. Regarding the vegetables, variety in colour is an easy way of ensuring that you get your full complement of the different vitamins and minerals.
Try to eat at least one green and one orange/yellow vegetable a day. Overall, your intake is low fat with no added sugar and the incorporation of fibre-rich foods, e.g. wholewheat Pronutro and low-GI bread will ensure sustained blood glucose and energy levels as well as less hunger pangs throughout the day. With summer here, I am thrilled to see that you are able to drink the recommended two litres of water a day.
Remember that legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils etc.) are excellent sources of plant protein as well as fibre, vitamins and minerals. Legumes also have virtually no fat. Try to incorporate these into your weekly intake.
Check that you remove the skin from the chicken legs before eating or prepare skinless portions. It is unclear as to your portions at dinner, but remember this easy guide to portion sizes for different food groups:
CARBOHYDRATES/ STARCH: Approximately the size of your fist; a tennis ball; 1 slice bread; ½ - 1 cup
PROTEIN: The palm of your hand (no thicker than the ‘pinky joint’); 1-2 packs of cards
FRUIT: Size of your fist; a tennis ball
VEGETABLES: Unlimited
DAIRY: 1 cup low-fat milk; 1 small tub low-fat/ fat-free yoghurt; matchbox block of cheese; 250-300ml drinking yoghurt
FAT: 1-2 level teaspoons oil (canola/ olive), ‘lite’ margarine, butter, peanut butter, regular mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon reduced oil/ ‘lite’ mayonnaise and salad dressing; ¼ medium avocado; any spreads ‘thinly’ on breads/ crackers; 1 small handful of nuts or seeds
You could look at your overall calcium intake as this is an essential nutrient for bone mineralisation and metabolism, preventing osteoporosis and recently, has been implicated as playing a role in weight maintenance.
The average adult woman needs around 1200mg of calcium every day. We absorb calcium optimally only until the age of 35 years, so the best time to build strong bones is in your teens and twenties.
It is, however, possible to help maintain bone mass throughout your life by keeping up your calcium intake and exercising (weight-bearing exercise). Women should ensure that they are consuming adequate amounts either from the diet or a combination of diet and a calcium supplement (providing at least 600-800mg elemental calcium, vitamin D and magnesium for absorption).
Here is a table with the approximate calcium content (mg) per 100g of foods:
Milk products
Fish
Full-cream milk
119
Pilchards in tomato
300
Low-fat milk
122
Salmon (with bones)
239
Skim milk
123
Sardines, canned
382
Soya milk*
4
Rice milk*
20
Cheeses
Soya products & legumes
Cheddar
721
Soya beans
102
Low-fat cottage
60
Tofu
372
Feta
492
Soya mince
49
Gouda
700
Baked beans in tomato
50
Mozzarella
517
Lentils
27
Ricotta
272
Sugar beans
32
Yoghurt & other dairy
Nuts
Low-fat, sweetened
152
Almonds
247
Plain, full cream
121
Hazelnuts
188
Plain, fat free
199
Peanuts
88
Walnuts
94
Vegetables and fruit
Seeds
Broccoli
46
Sesame
131
Cabbage
33
Linseed
250
Spinach
136
Sunflower
116
Orange
40
Cereals
Bread
Pronutro, wholewheat
460
Brown
55
Muesli
63
White
56
Whole-wheat
57
* If fortified with calcium, will contain more per 100g
This eating pattern, together with adequate physical activity at least 4-5 times a week, will ensure a healthy lifestyle into the future!
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