Making the right food choices for the upcoming week is an important part of planning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Each day of the week must include foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients and low in added sugars and salt. You really are what you eat, so whether you're following a commercial diet plan or doing your own meal planning, be weary of what you're putting into your body. Consult your doctor if you have questions about eating healthy or setting up a weekly meal plan.
The Facts
Planning out your meals seven days in advance may help to keep you on-track with your diet. There are several commercial diet plans available that take this approach to dieting, although some of them should be avoided. One of these is called the 7 Day Diet program, and EveryDiet.org calls this meal plan "ridiculous" and "unbalanced," so use caution when selecting a diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends selecting a diet plan that is well-balanced and nutritionally dense.
Foods
When planning out your meals over the course of a week, or selecting a seven-day diet program, you need to focus on healthy food choices. Whether you choose to follow a meat diet or go vegetarian, the basic food groups remain the same. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein sources. Additionally, don't exclude any of these food groups, or over-consume any of them, on any one day of the week. They should be balanced out over the seven-day period.
Breakfast
Registered dietitian Delia A. Hammock and Alison Sturm of GoodHousekeeping.com offer their version of the seven-day diet called the Lose 20 Pounds Fast Diet. A sample breakfast meal for this 1,200 calorie-a-day plan consists of 3/4 cup of bran flakes, a banana and 1 cup of skim milk. Another low-calorie breakfast option for another day of the week could consist of a frozen berry smoothie, half of a banana, half of an English muffin with light butter spread, and a glass of skim milk.
Lunch
The Lose 20 Pounds Fast Diet suggests eating a low-calorie, highly nutritious lunch. An example includes 1 cup of vegetable soup, a veggie burger on a pita with lettuce and salsa, 6 oz. of light yogurt and 15 grapes. For the remaining days of the week, you can swap out a whole-grain food item, vegetable, lean protein source, and fruit combination of similar size and calorie count.
Dinner
Your meal plan should include a highly nutritious dinner consisting of a food item from each of the major food groups. An example from the Lose 20 Pounds Fast Diet would include a 4-oz. flounder fillet, two broiled plum tomatoes with grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup of couscous, 1 cup of steamed broccoli and a fat-free pudding cup for dessert. This meal plan is flexible, as long as you swap out similar foods based on their calorie count and nutritional value.
Member Comments