It's easy to let your healthy eating habits go when you're on the go.
You're running behind while getting ready in the morning, so you grab a can of Mountain Dew and a fudge dipped granola bar. By 10 a.m. you're starving, so you grab a bag of chips from the vending machine. At lunch your friend asks you to run through the drive-up with him. You think, "OK. I'll get a parfait and a side salad to make up for my crummy choices this morning." But when you get to the drive-up, the fries smell so good, so you tack a medium fry and soda onto your pre-planned order. At 6 p.m. you are so worn out from the day that you decide to order Kung Pao chicken and steamed rice from the closest Chinese restaurant and call it a day.
Here's the problem: You started your day on sugar. Then you compounded it with more carbohydrates that converted to more sugar. Your body stores excess sugars as fat. Your pre-planned lunch was well-planned, but adding the fries and soda added 590 additional calories and 19 additional grams of fat. Your take-out dinner was probably laden with sodium, a culprit for hypertension, stroke and heart disease, according the American Heart Association. And it was most likely double the portion you really needed for one meal. We can estimate that you consumed 2,500 calories and 90 grams of fat over the course of the day, including drinks and condiments.
Instead, you could have had a cup of black coffee and two boiled eggs for breakfast; an apple and low-fat yogurt for a mid-morning snack; the pre-planned lunch with an ice water; and half-size portions of your take out for dinner. In this case you would have consumed less than 1,200 calories and 30 grams of fat. You would still have room for an evening snack such as low-fat popcorn or carrots and dip.
Of course a busy day isn't the only on-the-go eating concern. Lunch-n-learns tend to turn into grazing opportunities. If the lunch is spread across the meeting table, having the food right in front of you presents the temptation to refill your plate and continue snacking even after you're satisfied. In this case, try sitting closer to the fruits and vegetables. You'll be snacking on lower-calorie and higher water content foods.
Sit-down restaurant meals present more opportunities to overeat. Viewed optimistically, they present opportunities to make better choices. For starters, choose water instead of soda. You'll save hundreds of calories. One 20-ounce soda contains about 227 calories. Refill that once during lunch and you've consumed a quarter of your daily caloric intake. Water has zero calories. Another good choice is to ask for your salad dressing on the side and lightly dip your fork before picking up your salad. If you order an entrée, divide it in half before you start eating and package one part to go.
The National Library of Medicine tells us that we need carbohydrates (sugar) for energy, fat for energy and vitamin absorption and sodium for proper fluid balance and nerve and muscle function. But just how much do we need?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a typical diet should include 2,000 calories, 65 grams or less of fat, 2,400 mg or less of sodium and 300 grams or more of carbohydrates. Read food labels and monitor portion sizes to follow these guidelines.
The Wellness Councils of America suggests limiting fried foods and condiments, limiting the amount of salt and butter you add to your food and avoiding sugar-filled sodas to keep you eating healthy on the go. You might also consider boiling six eggs one evening so you can grab them on the go several mornings of the week, limit eating out to once a week or on special occasions and planning and packing meals ahead of time to avoid the hassle in the morning.
Only you can control what you eat. But remember that what you eat controls how you feel and how much you weigh.
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