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A three-day healthy menu plan.
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight? If you did, here’s food for thought: The human body handles smaller meals better than a few larger meals. Three meals a day are good, but four to five small meals are better.
Eating more often throughout the day is the best strategy when it comes to weight control. By doing this, your body will be less likely to store your food intake as fat.
So, let’s start this year out by losing a few pounds and eating right. Here are a few examples of a three-day meal plan to help boost your metabolism and get you on the right path.
DAY 1
Breakfast: 2 eggs, any style
½ cup of oatmeal
1 banana
Snack: 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1 green apple
Lunch: 1 chicken breast
1 or 2 slices low-fat whole-grain bread
1 piece of fresh fruit
Snack: Graham crackers
Dinner: 6 ounces of lean ground turkey, 93 percent fat-free
Large raw salad
Note: Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.
DAY 2
Breakfast: 2 eggs, any style
Hodgson Mill multigrain buttermilk pancake with milled flax seed and soy
Snack: Fresh fruit
Lunch: 1 chicken breast
Spinach, fresh or frozen
Snack: Low-fat yogurt
Dinner: 6 ounces of lean ground beef
Large raw salad
1 slice low-fat whole grain bread
Note: Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.
DAY 3
Breakfast: ½ to ¾ cup of low-fat granola or whole-grain cereal
1 cup of skim milk
Between meals: 1 cup of green tea
Lunch: Tuna sandwich (nonfat or light mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, whole grain bread)
Between meals: 1 cup of green tea
Dinner: 6 ounces of wild salmon
Large raw salad
Sweet potato (small amount)
Note: Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.
Eating small, healthy meals is a key factor in boosting your metabolism. Do not forget about your protein intake; this will help you build lean muscle, which will help you burn calories faster. Also, keep an eye on those carbohydrates; try to cut them out as the day goes by.
Water with your meals will also aid in your digestion.
Alton Arevalo is a fitness specialist at the Health Zone, which is a part of Saint Francis Health System. He is also an active member of Tulsa’s Young Professionals. To read more about Arevalo and his desire to keep Tulsans healthy, click here.
