Kasia the Expert

       The other day I had a banana for a snack. Since I plan my meals using the Nutrition Planner on StartMakingChoices.com, I proceeded to add the banana to the Meal Planner. My expectation was, once I typed "banana" into the search box, to find a plain banana. To my surprise, I was presented with a long list of foods made with banana including banana pudding and chips. Somewhere, buried within the list was my plain banana. This was a clear reminder that the computer can't read my mind and if I wanted to save time I needed to be more specific as to what I was searching for.  

Here is my list of "searching shortcuts" that can save time and frustration.

Fruit and Veggie Shortcut: Narrow down your search from over 80 choices for a "banana" to just 6 by typing "fresh banana ." The same applies to veggies; there are over 90 options for "broccoli", but only 2 for "fresh broccoli."

Milk Shortcut: I drink skim milk but my search for "milk" returned over 200 entries. This number can be cut down to just 15 by calling the skim milk, "nonfat milk."

Sandwich Shortcut: You can be faced with over 80 choices for a "cheeseburger" or just 8 by specifying the restaurant where you got your sandwich from, such as McDonald's.

When planning meals I frequently find myself including the same foods, such as nonfat milk, whole grain bread, orange juice and many others. Using "searching shortcuts" for my favorite foods is promising to make my meal planning a breeze!

We are at the final stage of our weight loss contest and so far our group of 22 lost over 100 pounds! Looking back, it was a fun and motivating experience and I wanted to share with you my Mini Makeover Results. Below is a summary of what I used to do and how I've changed.

 Nutrition Before:

• Without a food diary, it is difficult, if not impossible, to estimate how many calories we actually consume. Before the contest I just never took the time to track what I ate so I just didn't know how many calories or MyPyramid food groups I consumed.

Nutrition After:

• I now use the Start Making Choices Balanced Life Plan Nutrition Planner to track what I eat. I quickly discovered that in spite of my perception of eating plenty of fruits and veggies, I only consumed about 60% of the recommended amount. I also found out that I eat over 70% of the recommended ounces of grain. As a result I've added fruits and veggies to my diet and eat fewer grains, especially pretzels and crackers.

 Exercise Before

• Play "chase" with my almost 3 year old daughter.

Exercise After

• I've stopped taking elevator to get to my desk located on the forth floor. Since bicycling is my favorite outdoor activity and, although, spring is just around the corner, it's just to cold to take my bike outside. The alternative was rather simple,   I've added cycling classes to my schedule twice a week during my lunch break. Of course, I still play "chase" with my daughter.

 I lost 3 pounds, and while my goal was to lose 10 pounds, with a few lifestyle adjustments I made, those 3 pounds are not coming back!

The other day, I prepared spaghetti for lunch, piling it high on my plate, admittedly exceeding a standard portion. According to the USDA's MyPyramid, for my height and weight, I should be consuming 10 ounce equivalents of grain a day. After having eaten a rather large bagel for breakfast, as well as the 3 cups of pasta for lunch, I realized I had consumed my day's worth of grain equivalents by noon! What was I supposed to eat for dinner, fruit salad and chewing gum?!

As I continue to monitor portion size and balance my daily recommended food groups, I feel it is important to identify some commonly eaten grains and associated ounce equivalents according to MyPyramid.gov. Some of these may surprise you!

Amount that counts as 1 ounce equivalent:
Spaghetti, cooked (1/2 cup)
Bread (whole grain, 1 slice)
Crackers (saltines, 7)
English muffin (1/2 muffin)
Oatmeal (1/2 cup, cooked)
Popcorn (3 cups, popped)
Bagel (1 mini)
Tortilla (1 small)

In today's world, it is common to exceed our daily food group recommendations; however, we must remember that doing so is a contributing factor for weight gain. As a nutritionist, I have access to numerous food models that visually demonstrate a standard portion size. Using your own set of measuring cups and the list of common portions and cup or ounce equivalents identified on MyPyramid.gov, is a good way to sharpen your visual portion identification skills. Developing these skills will help you make informed decisions, as they relate to your daily food group recommendations, both in and away from home.