The Fill Your Plate Eating Plan
69So Easy A Child Can Do It - And Should!
In the course of my life, I have regained my health from a point of being quite overweight and addicted to alcohol to a point of being a healthy weight, strong, and celebrating over 14 years of sobriety.
I have never liked or used diets. I have never counted a calorie. I deny myself no foods. I have made great use of a very simple eating plan called Fill-Your-Plate. I have used it for years and highly recommend it to anyone at any level of fitness or lack thereof.
By following the simple Fill-Your-Plate guidelines: 1/2 plate of veggies, 1/4 plate of whole grain like brown rice, corn, whole grain bread, or many other delicious choices, and 1/4 plate of lean meat, fish, or other protein source, I follow a perfectly balanced food plan all the time.And I don't go hungry.
By doing this, I stay healthy and fit. I will not get skinny, but you know what? That's not my goal! My goal is not to lose weight, but rather, to gain health!
Enjoy Delicious, Natural Food!
It Is Not An Exact Science!
Fill-Your-Plate is stress-free eating. The plate pictured above is a little heavy on the protein and has no starch, but that's OK sometimes. The great thing about this plan is that it adapts to what you have available. It is a guideline, not a regimen.
You can make your plan more effective, as I have, by choosing only healthy, natural foods, but even if you do not change what you are currently eating, following this portion plan will have a positive effect on your health and weight.
You can also increase the effectiveness of this plan by choosing a smaller plate! Don't go overboard with a tiny plate or saucer, or you will miss the point. The idea is to eat 3 balanced meals a day with healthy, natural snacks in moderation. In this way, you will have a healthy, balanced food plan, feel satisfied, and soon arrive at your ideal weight.
Nothing Could Be Simpler!
- Fill Your Plate!
By eating healthy, natural foods in these portions, and participating in regular, light exercise, you will soon be the perfect weight for you!
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When you use a divided dish as a guide, fill the main dish portion with fruit and veggies. Use the smaller sections for your protein and whole grain choices.
Copyright:SuzanneBennett:January 7, 2009
- Choosing Healthy Substitutes In Cooking
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Backed By Our First Lady and the USDA!
- USDA\'s MyPlate - Home page
I am pleased to say that, since I first discussed this idea more than 2 years ago, it has now replaced the "Food Pyramid" concept thanks to First Lady Michele Obama and the USDA!
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Many Thanks, Nicole! I am all about finding ways to stay healthy that are easy to do and that really work. This is one of the simplest and the best! :)
Kudos to you justmesuzanne! Here's wishing you another 12 years and to more great hubs.
This is great advice Suzanne! It reminds me of a book I read a few years ago called Fit From Within. There was a time when I was all about diets, but they inevitably became too restricting and boring and when I abandoned them, any weight I had lost came right back. Then I read that book, which recommends some of the guidelines you've provided here, and another one called The Only Diet There Is, which is a diet from negative thinking about food. I started eating whatever I wanted and loving whatever I ate, and any excess weight I had gained from my ineffective dieting faded away nearly effortlessly.
I really like the idea of focusing on "being healthy" rather than maintaining a focus on "weight" (losing weight, weight loss, dieting, etc.), and I'm glad you've been so successful in your efforts. Congrats also on giving up alcohol. I dating someone with a drinking problem, so I know how much of a struggle that can be, yet I imagine it was the best thing you could have done for yourself.
Thanks for the great "fill your plate" idea also! And here's to many more years of optimal health. :)
This is my kind of diet. I hate any regimen that requires counting and calculations because they make me focus more on the calories I'm not allowed, and less on the ones I've got permission for!
Yes, exactly, and really there should be no "forbidden foods". Moderation and healthy choices allow room for everything! :)
I Love This Hub. Hip Hip Hooray! Thumbs Up! Thanks too for the Fill Your Plate link.
My pleasure! The more I can prevent the diet industry from manipulating people into running around buying this, that, and the other thing to make themselves acceptable, the better! The plain truth is that all you need to do to be healthy and well and a weight that is appropriate for you is eat well and take moderate, regular exercise!
You are absolutely right on! I am healthier today than I was 10 years ago because I follow a very simple plan as you outline here. For sure the diet industry has complicated and convinced many likewise. To our health! Cheers!
:)
This is awesome, suzanne. Thanks!
My pleasure! :)
Good for you, Suzanne! That's a beautiful testimonial to your commitment to sobriety and good health.
I use the fill-your-plate plan (though I didn't know that's what it's called), but don't eat meat so get my protein from other sources. I have a lot of health issues, so believe that healthy eating helps my body to cope with them better. I don't "diet", and am not thin, but the way I eat agrees with me very well.
To your (our) good health! Jaye
Thanks, Jaye! Yes, dieting is a very bad thing! I'm glad to see that women with more "traditional" figures are getting the appreciation they deserve these days! :)
Suzanne, this looks promising. I, too, can't stand diets and all the complications. I need something simple to follow. I will look further into this. Thanks!
Great! Glad I could help! :)
Nicole Winter Level 3 Commenter 3 years ago
Three cheers for justmesuzanne! I love your diet plan, it's one I've followed for awhile now, when I remember to, it knocks out over-snacking and promotes healthy body image. Keep up the great work!