Cherry Lowman’s Body Improvement Plan Dieting on fast food

Press, 14 November 1985, Page 9

Cherry Lowman’s Body Improvement Plan Dieting on fast food

Everyone knows it’s simpler to prepare diet menus in your own kitchen, but everyone knows, too, that when you’re away from home you often settle for fast foods — to save time and money. Can you lose or maintain weight if you eat fast foods? Can you be well-nourished if you eat them frequently? The answer generally is a qualified “Yes.” Fast foods can be integrated into a well-balanced diet plan if you make the necessary adjustments. Back at the beginning of this series, I explained the principles of the 8.1. P. diet — gradual weight loss, nutritional balance, and por-tion-counting instead of calorie-counting. For a lunch or dinner that provides 500 to 800 calories, you need to select one to three portions of vegetables, two from the low calorie group; one portion of fruit; two to three portions of protein, two to three portions of starch and one to two portions (teaspoons) of fat.

To be adequately nourished while losing weight, the average woman needs a varied diet that supplies 1200 to 1500 calories daily.

Men can lose weight on a higher calorie budget — around 1800 to 2000 calories daily. A typical fast food poses the dieter with several problems. High calories and nutritional imbalance are the main ones.

Many fast-food outlets provide one type of food, vegetables and fruits are often scarce.

Quite a few popular fast foods are high in fat, a concentrated source of calories, or they are deep-fried in fat.

A small order of chip potatoes, for example, provides more than 200 calories. That compares with 60 calories in a half cup of home-boiled potatoes. Deepfrying makes the difference. These tips will help you fit fast foods into your diet or weight-maintenance plan:

1. Select one of the following for lunch or dinner.

Hamburgers One plain or one singleslice cheeseburger, in standard sizes. Serve with as many nonfat trimmings as you like (tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onions). Such hamburgers usually range from 300 to 400 calories each, depending on the franchise, and provide two portions of starch, three to four of protein and your fat allowance for the day. Fried chicken One breast or thigh, each providing about 300 calories, three portions of protein and three or more portions of fat. Eat with a roll rather than chips for a nonfat source of starch. Fish sandwich One has about 300 calories, three portions of protein, two portions of starch and three or so portions of fat. Roast beef sandwich One provides 400 to 600 calories (depending on size), two portions of starch and three or so portions of protein. Fish and chips One order of each totals 500 calories and makes up about three portions of protein, two portions of starch and probably enough fat for two days. Pizza

One large slice provides between 200 and 250 calories, two portions of starch, one portion of protein and one-half to one portion of vegetables. One half of a 10-inch beef, cheese or pepperoni pizza contains about 500 calories.

If you are a pizza fan, this is one of your best bets for a low-fat, calorie-con-trolled fast food. It is rather high in sodium, however.

Pizza is a good take-home fast food. Serve with grated carrot and leafy green salad and skim milk for a nutritionally balanced meal. .

2. Select low-calorie beverages. Skip the milkshakes. These can range from 350 to nearly 1000 calories, depending on size. Meet your need for calcium at home with a glass of skim milk (under 100 calories). Stick to coffee, tea or a diet soda. Use artificial sweetener.

Meet your need for vitamin C with a glass of orange juice, if available.

3. Try not to eat high-fat fast foods more than once a week.

Fried chicken, fish and chips, fish sandwiches and cheeseburgers are among the items to eat in moderation.

You can eat fast food meals two or three times a week if you include pizza in one or two of them. Salad bars provide the most nutritious of all fast foods, and you can visit them daily.

Available in increasing numbers of health food shops and fast food outlets, salad bars are ideal for dieters. They turn over the choice of portions and balance to you.

Most salad-bar selections are low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals. The more elaborate salad bars offer a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, beans, starchy items and condiments, dressings and topS- but relatively few in choices. Nonetheless, if you select carefully, you can come up with a nutritious, low-caloie, low-cost meals at most salad bas. The salad-bar chart accompanying this article shows you which items fall under the six different food groups used in the 8.1. P. diet. You will find the number of calories and portion sizes listed for each item. You can increase vegetable portions to a maximum of six per salad-bar meal, four from the lowcalories group (marked with an asterisk), and increase fruit portions to two. Here are some tips on how — with the help of the salad-bar chart — you can

put together nutritionally complete meals: 1. Combine several items in a food group to make up one portion. This way you increase not only the variety but the range of nutrients. For example, make one portion from the fruit group by combining % cup of strawberries, one-third of an orange or tangerine and the equivalent of 2 to 3 tablespoons of pineapple (several chunks or half-slice).

Note: There are 16 tablespoons in one 8-ounce cup.

2. Go easy on starchy salads if you are a dieter. Use no more than % cup of potato or macaroni salad since these are made with fat-based dressings.

Red kidney beans arid chick peas (garbanzos), in general, are better sources of starch since they provide considerably more protein as well. Bread or macaroni combined with beans make a complete protein comparable in quality to an animal protein.

3. Limit salad dressing to one tablespoon.

Use spicy seasonings in place of dressing. Lemon often is available and makes a useful substitute. 4. For weight maintenance instead of weight loss, add portions of starch.

Allow about 100 to 150 calories per portion. Or add a bowl of soup or a slice of pumpernickel bread.

5. Use the 8.1. P. salad bar chart at home.

You can refer to it in setting up a nutritious salad bar in your own kitchen or dining area.

6. Experiment with portion sizes at home.

See how many spoonsful of sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, chopped green pepper, grated carrots or strawberries fill half a cup.

Place a half cup of kidney beans on your plate to learn to estimate this amount visually. Gradually you will develop a good sense of portion size. — Copyright.