Eating Healthy

So I've decided to write up another health-related post today. This time I'm sharing the foods I try to avoid, and the foods I eat on a regular basis. First of all, I have to mention that yesterday I saw an article posted by USA Today that listed the metro areas in the United States that are at the most risk for a heart attack. Our area, the Quad Cities, was ranked SECOND in the whole country for heart attack risk. (Read the full article here) Crazy! I know anyone can have a heart attack and a lot of it is genetics, but at the same time I really think poor diet and smoking is a big factor. Don't smoke, people! You're setting yourself up for health problems! :)

Anyway, diet is really important and I always try to stay conscious of it everyday. That's why today I am sharing the foods I eat most and what I stay away from. I have written a health-related post before - see it here - and I'll start out by saying I eat junk food from time to time like anyone else. I just try to make healthy choices whenever I can, and I'm a vegetarian, so avoiding red meats is probably a good thing, too. I do eat sweets (almost everyday), but the key is that I just eat them sparingly. I also avoid pop and fast food whenever I can. I can't stand the thought of putting a bunch of trash, or junk food, into my body.

1. Sorry for you McDonald's lovers out there, but fast food = bad. Enough said.

2. I love my potato chips like anyone else. I just try not to overeat them. As in eating a whole bag in one sitting, or eating them for every meal.

3. I haven't eaten meat in a very long time for my own personal reasons when I was a kid (the stuff was nasty to me, what can I say), but ruling out meat hasn't been too bad for me, since I feel pretty healthy. So I'd say it's a pretty good diet.

4. I used to drink energy drinks in college but have since stopped, because Lord knows what bad stuff is in these things...

5. I don't drink pop, like ever, anymore. It has no nutritional value, so why not drink water or tea instead?

So those are the foods I try to avoid. Basically, I'm not going to eat chips and cookies and pop all day. If I do, I am probably destined to be obese and have health problems. My goal everyday is just to get a good balance of nutrients and protein, instead of a bunch of junk and fat. I don't starve myself, either. If I am hungry, I eat!!

So, I'm going to say again, like I did in my last health post, that I really recommend tracking your food on a website like Livestrong.com.

I use it everyday and I like to see what foods I eat all the time and what my calorie count is everyday. I always keep it between 1000 and 1500. Usually around 1500 calories is my daily goal. Anything less than that and I am hungry! Anything more, and I usually feel like I've eaten a cow. Of course, I am not very active either, so when I do work out, I have to take in more calories than usual.

Like I said, one of my favorite things about this website is seeing what foods I eat the most of out of any others. The following are some my most eaten foods and drinks:

1. Water - This is my most tracked item on Livestrong.com. I drink water daily, throughout the day.
2. Cheerios - My breakfast cereal of choice. I never get tired of them.
3. Organic Valley 1% Milk. I switched to organic milk a little while back and haven't drank generic milk since. It tastes so much better.
4. Bananas - It's my go-to lunch food. I grab them to take in my lunch almost daily.
5. Almonds - I like Emerald Dry Roasted almonds, and Blue Diamond Honey Roasted.
6. Granola bars - I have a granola bar for breakfast almost every day and prefer Nature Valley, although many of them have a lot of sugar and aren't organic. A sacrifice you have to make for yumminess!

In addition to those foods above, I also like orange juice, green tea, and iced tea to drink, and I eat a lot of Greek yogurt for lunch as well. Usually my lunch is lighter in calories (about 300-350), and I have a larger dinner, with small snacks throughout the day.

So that's my typical diet! Thought I would share in case anyone is struggling to eat healthy out there. I don't do the best at working out, but I definitely try to stay healthy when it comes to my diet. Hope you all have a great weekend!