A BUSY WOMAN'S DIET

Trying to fit a complicated diet in with the demands of family, work and social time may seem impossible. Healthy food does not have to take a lot of time to prepare. Nor does it mean that you avoid all conveniences. By learning how to make better choices and with a little planning, even a busy woman can enjoy a diet that helps to manage her weight.

 

 

 

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

 

Achieving a healthy weight requires you to manage your calorie intake and physical activity. Eating more calories than you burn in a day results in weight gain, while consuming fewer leads to weight loss. These fundamental basics of weight loss apply whether or not you feel you have enough time to count calories or exercise.

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PORTION SIZES

 

You may not have time to precisely calculate your daily calorie and macronutrient intake, but you can control portion sizes. Eating proper portion sizes does not mean you have to weigh and measure every last bite. Rather, learn to eyeball appropriate servings of foods. The Cleveland Clinic suggests thinking of portions in relation to common objects. For example, 3 oz. of cooked meat or fish is the size of your palm, a ½ cup of grapes is the size of a light bulb and 2 tablespoons of salad dressing is about as big as a ping pong ball. You can also easily portion out your food by filling half your plate with green vegetables and then leaving a quarter each for proteins and starches. Be especially vigilant at restaurants, which tend to serve over-inflated portions.

HEALTHIER CHOICES

 

At home or eating out, choose lean proteins such as poultry and fish, whole grains such as microwavable, frozen brown rice and whole wheat pasta and fresh fruits and vegetables. A busy woman's pantry should be stocked with whole grain crackers, oatmeal, olive oil, canned beans, tuna and low-sodium tomato sauce. The freezer may hold a few low-calorie, low-sodium frozen meals for nights when there is simply not enough time to prepare a meal from scratch. When you know you will have a busy week, make sure you have healthy snacks on hand--such as fresh fruit, deli turkey, nuts, whole-wheat english muffins and hummus--so at least you can graze all day and not skip meals, only to overeat at the next opportunity.

CONSIDERATIONS

 

Think outside of "conventional" meal planning when coming up with a diet for a busy lifestyle. An easy dinner may be composed of breakfast foods like scrambled eggs, or egg whites, turkey bacon and fresh fruit, purchased pre-cut. On nights you have time to cook, perhaps on a weekend, make extra food that can be frozen and rethawed when time is of the essence. Foods such as chili made with lean ground turkey, lentil soup and vegetable lasagna made with whole grain noodles and low fat cheese can be prepared in large quantities and frozen in single servings.

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN

 

For a busy woman, breakfast might begin with bran or oat cereal with berries and low-fat milk. If getting the children ready does not even permit this much preparation, grab a low-fat string cheese with a banana and a few whole almonds. At lunch, use a salad kit to toss together a salad and top it with canned, water-packed tuna and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Eat a yogurt--for calcium--and a graham cracker for dessert. At dinner, run into the grocery store and purchase a rotisserie chicken, whole-grain rolls and a bag of steamable, frozen vegetables. Snack two times a day on fresh fruit such as apples and bananas that can be tossed into your purse.