What is a healthy meal plan?

cut the fat, the sugar, high fructose snacks and drinks and the sauces along with exercise. once you get past that hurdle, the healthy meal plan will make a lot of sense. you have to develop “taste” for things that are healthy in order for it to effectively work for you or your family.

if you’re there already, cool beans.

This is a great diet for everyone to follow. It doesn’t matter if you are diabetic or not. It’s just a good healthy diet.

I think it’s the same for most people, regardless of age. Charliecompany has mentioned several things, and I agree in particular with the HFCS. It’s tough to get rid of completely but you can remove a good deal of it from your diet. READING LABELS is a big part of this. Try to not eat HFCS, aspartame, Splenda (sucralose) or any artificial sweetener. Also try to avoid any partially hydrogenated oils.

Aim for lots and lots of vegetables, but don’t overcook them.

Whole grains as opposed “fortified enriched” white flour type of breads. Eat complex carbohydrates more than simple carbs. (Example: sweet potato instead of white bread.)

Fruits are great, but I try to eat them (and any simple carbs) early in the day and stick with higher protein in the evening. It seems to be helping me to lose weight in my abdominal region.

Protein is important for rebuilding muscle tissue. Lowfat protein is better for you because it doesn’t contain as much saturated fat. Typically, chicken, turkey and fish fall in this category. Red meat is not the devil, just get a lowfat cut. (Although I will say that I like a turkey burger almost as much as I like beef or venison burger.)

And don’t even get me started on exercise!

Check out sparkpeople.com

Breakfast: 1 Bowl of Steel Cut Oatmeal, 1 8oz Glass of Juice, Slice of bread with Peanut Butter. Cup of Coffee with Two Hitt’s Bahlsen Cocoa Cookies.

Mid-Morning Snack: 1 Low fat Vanilla Yogurt

Lunch: Sandwich :Turkey and Swiss or Ham and Swiss on Whole Wheat Bread and bottle of Water

Mid-Day Snack: Fruit (Strawberries, Pineapple, etc)

Late Afternoon Snack: 1 Banana

Dinner: Fish or Poultry dish (i.e. Salmon or Mediterranean Style Chicken breast with Polenta)

That’s my meal plan I follow M-F, except on weekends when I stray from my meal plan. No Sandwiches on the weekend

Good Luck!
R

@robhaya what is Steel Cut oatmeal? is that a brand name? I’ve never heard of it.

@ Scamp

Steel-Cut Oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into two or three pieces using steel discs. Golden in color and resembling mini rice particles, they are as nature intended – nothing added and nothing taken out.

How are they different from Rolled Oats?

Rolled oats are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Due to all of this additional processing they have lost some of their natural taste, goodness and texture.

I like McCann’s new Quick & Easy Steel-cut Oatmeal! For more info http://www.mccanns.ie/index.html

R

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Eat foods as close to the way nature made them as possible. Fill your diet with has much fresh fruits and vegetables as you want. Add a moderate amount of whole grains and legumes like beans and oatmeal (but not breads, they have to much refined flour sugar and salt)
Add lean protein in very small amounts and get your fat from natural sources like nuts and avocados. Don’t eat butter, margarine, cream or processed creamers. Drink non-fat milk. Drink plenty of water and avoid sodas.
Exercise with an emphasis on flexibility first. Do yoga or other stretching exercises and build your fitness and strength up from there.

@robhaya Thanks! and thanks for the link. I think I’ve seen these in my grocery store. I’ll have to give them a try. I love oatmeal, and I need to get my cholesterol down, so that will help me in two ways.

@scamp
NP! Just a tip when making the oatmeal, make it in batches. 1 pot makes 3 servings for me. I bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add 1 cup of the McCaan’s quick and easy to the boiling water. Let it boil for a minute or two and turn off the flame, cover, and let it soak overnight. The next day, just take 1 serving from the pot and put it into a bowl, microwave for 2 minutes, and eat. Refrigerate the left overs in the pot. This will save you a lot of time.
R

its real simple, if you cant hunt it, grow it, or forage it, you shouldn’t be eating it.

this includes meat, vegetables, nuts, fruits, etc.