Adulting Your Habits for Weight Loss + Vibrant Aging
Are you hanging onto childhood habits in your daily food choices? Turning up your nose at vegabtables or primarily eating starchy ones such as peas, corn and potatoes?
It’s possible to re-orient your tastebuds and habits to be more adult-like. As we push back on eating processed convience foods and focus more on nutrient dense ones, our health will soar as our disease risks plummet. Natural and sustainable weight loss will be a benefit of a more veggie focused plate as well.
Eating the ‘rainbow’ and hitting a “5-a-day” goal can feel daunting at first, but with planning and creativity it can become second nature. The US govermental recommended standard is to get 3 servings of veggies and 2 fruit every day. That’s a great place to start and aim for, but the truth is, the daily 3 veggies recommendation is really a minimum. Everyone can benefit from eating more fiber (only 3% of Americans get enough), and upping their vitamins and antioxidant intake.
Here are 8 tips for getting to five vegetable servings every day:
1. Know what a “serving” is
½ cup cooked or chopped raw veggies (about the size of a tennis ball)
1 cup raw leafy greens (such as spinach)
Tips:
Read labels—most frozen and canned veggies list indicate serving sizes
Know that a serving is most commonly about the size of one’s fist.
2. Start your day with
Smoothies: Blend 1–2 cups spinach or kale with fruit, yogurt or nut-milk. (1–2 servings). Besides the color, you won’t taste the greens. Ditto for adding cooked white beans—pure protein!
Omelets & scrambles: Toss in chopped peppers, mushrooms, onions or tomatoes. (1 serving)
3. Bulk up your lunches
Salad first: Aim for at least 2 cups of mixed greens plus toppings such as shredded carrots, cucumber, radish and bell pepper. (2–3 servings)
Veg-packed soup or grain bowl: Stir in extra veggies—zucchini, broccoli florets, cauliflower, peas. (1–2 servings)
4. Sneak in veggies as snacks
Veggie sticks + dip: Carrot, celery, cucumber and snap peas with hummus or yogurt dip. (1 serving)
Roasted chickpea-veggie mix: Roast chickpeas with chopped broccoli or Brussels sprouts for a crunchy nibble. (1 serving)
For more healthy WhyPowered snack ideas, click here.
5. Make dinner a veg-centric celebration
Half-plate rule: Fill half your dinner plate with 2–3 different veggies—roasted, steamed or sautéed. (2–3 servings)
Veggie-forward mains: Try stuffed peppers, ratatouille, vegetable lasagna, stir-fries or cauliflower-crust pizza
6. Prep ahead on “batch day”
Roast a big sheet pan of mixed vegetables (sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, onions) so you can grab ½-cup portions all week
Pre-chop salad bases and store in airtight containers for grab-and-go lunches
For my Top 10 WhyPowered Meal Prep tips, CLICK HERE.
7. Use “hidden” veggie hacks
Grate or purée zucchini/carrot into muffin or pancake batter
Stir cauliflower purée into mashed potatoes, oatmeal or mac-and-cheese
Add finely chopped spinach to meatloaf, burgers or meatballs
8. Keep track
Use a simple tracker on your fridge, in a daily planner or food log: check off each ½-cup or 1-cup serving as you eat
Celebrate when you hit five—reward yourself with something you enjoy (non-food, ideally)
By building veggies into every meal and snack—rather than as an afterthought—you’ll find it easier (and even enjoyable) to hit at least five servings every day. Consistency is key, so select the strategies that fit your lifestyle and let veggies shine! Your future healhier self is thanking you already!
To your abundant health and joy,
Health Coach Gayle Rose
Certified Whole Health Coach
Certified Behavior Change Specialist
Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
720-793-0413
P.S. Feeling stuck in your weight loss and health improvement efforts? With WhyPowered Coaching, you can struggle less and achieve more. Coaching helps you build consistency, patience and resiliency. You can (and deserve) to age with vitality and not grow older with disease. DM me to explore more.
