Automated eating...take the guess work out of lunch

Variety may be the spice of life, but too many options may make it difficult to make the right choice when we are trying to lose weight. The solution is referred to as automated eating, coined by Dr. Oz, heart surgeon, renown author and of course Oprah’s health guru.

Automated eating makes it a thoughtless process to consume the correct amount of calories to lose weight and eat the right kinds of food to fulfill our nutritional needs. By no means do I expect anyone to eat like a Zombie, I just want to make it as easy as possible to achieve your goals.

So what does automated eating really entail? What you are going to do is have a few meal options for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner which you will rotate throughout the week. You want to make sure the meals you chose have the right nutrients to fulfill your health needs.

Example:
Breakfast for me is almost always fat free yogurt, Go Lean Crunch with fresh blueberries or strawberries and/or bananas and walnuts. The yogurt provides me a serving of calcium and the Go Lean Crunch is high protein and high fiber. Fruit is a great source of vitamins and antioxidants and walnuts have essential fatty acids.

Lunch tends to use any of these ingredients in varies combinations, Boca soy burger, spinach, 100% whole grain pasta, black beans or some other dark green vegetable. Soy and black beans are healthy meat alternatives. Whole grain pasta, veggies and beans are also a great source of fiber, potassium and other disease fighting nutrients.

Dinners have more variety because I eat with my family, but the same idea is going to apply. We have about ten different meals that we rotate during the week. Automated eating is still incorporated because we know dinner will include a lean protein such as chicken, shrimp or fish. Also, there are usually green leafy vegetables and a whole grain such as brown rice.

Snacks should be considered mini-meals, too. Depending on what you are craving snacks options can be endless. One good rule to follow is to stick with whole foods and stay away from processed junk. Low fat popcorn, fruit, nuts, seeds, string cheese, baby carrots and dip, even a bowl of high-fiber low-sugar cereal are all healthy options. Called mini-meals because snacks should include protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat just as a full meal should.

Over time you can swap out your menu items so you do not get bored.

Health is our own greatest gift to ourselves...Mel