Everyone knows fruits and vegetables are healthy for us, there is no question about it. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and are even low in calories. Then why is it that so many people who eat their fruits and vegetables are still overweight? There are a few different answers to this question and today I’ll be focusing on the more simple answer. The problem is most people take the food which is very good for them and actually make it bad for themselves!
I have had clients approach me and say they have cleaned up their diet, and have been eating better for the past few weeks. They started snacking on fruits and veggies instead of potato chips and even started having a salad for lunch, but their weight hasn’t changed! At first glance it seems like they are on the right track. They took out the fatty foods and replaced them with healthier low calorie foods, but what they actually did was take something that was good for them and loaded it with more fat by adding in all those extra toppings and high fat salad dressings.
They also forgot to mention that those fruits and veggies they where having for a snack where being dipped in salad dressing or caramel, and the vegetables they had for dinner where covered in butter. Most people think it’s alright to add these things because “They are having something healthy.”
Consider this, the average cup of lettuce is about 5 calories. Add some cucumbers and some shredded carrots and you are looking at roughly 25 – 50 calories. 1 tbsp of dressing is 75 – 150 calories, but lets face it, 1 tablespoon isn’t enough. Add some croutons, cheese and maybe some meat, and now you are looking at 600 or more calories! If your allowed daily caloric intake is 1600 calories, you just about consumed half of that in one meal!
Just because you are eating fruits and vegetables doesn’t always mean you are eating healthy. If you are interested in seeing how many calories are in the foods you eat visit:
If you want to some help knowing how many calories you should eat visit:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.
Go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html to find out how many cups of fruits and vegetables you should be eating!
-Scott
Thanks again Scott for the advice with my food that I’ve been eating! My waist and stomach are both starting to get smaller and I know it’ll be a while until I reach my goal.
I am still curious about a few things in my meals. I’ll catch you later this week if I see you on.
Good article!
No problem spencer, I’m glad you are achieving your goals! Stick with it and you will go far!