Today I want to talk about building your ideal plate. This is a big topic but I am going pare it down to show what a good starting plate looks like.
An ideal plate includes all three macronutrients, protein, fats and carbs. Each of these provide the body with key components to help it run smoothly. Proteins provide the amino acids that your body uses to make hormone and blood. Fats provide a long burning energy source and are the building block of your cells. Carbs help to regulate protein and fat breakdown and provides fuel for the brain. Now this is just a few of the things that they do! I will go into more detail in future posts.
I could go on and give you the exact percentage of each of these macros that you need in every single meal but I am not going to! Why you ask? Because you can build a plate without measuring every bite of food that goes unto your plate!! You can make your plate from sight! You can make your plate based off of what your body is telling you that you need at that meal.
Sound a little too good to be true??!! Well, it’s not! You just have to listen and trust your instincts. Now I’m not talking about sitting down and inhaling a full bag of potato chips…..tasty as they might be!! I’m talking about eating real food, not the overly processed “food stuff”…swap those chips for a baked sweet potato topped with butter. You will get the carbs and fat that your body wants and some fiber, vitamins and minerals!
What does a well-balanced plate look like??
Half of that plate will be covered in non-starchy veggies. That’s right, I said HALF your plate!! Or a really big bowl salad that includes all the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc.!
Next add your protein, it should cover roughly 1/4 of your plate. I recommend eating at least 4-8 ounces of high quality protein at each meal. For sight reference, four ounces of protein is roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Now, add a bit of fat to your plate. You can do this by adding pat of butter to your veggies, a few tablespoons of salad dressing, a sauce for the meat, raw cheese, or even half an avocado.
Lastly, add real food carbs to your plate. What I am talking about here is squash, potatoes, fruit, gluten-free grains like rice or quinoa(if you tolerate them well). I suggest limiting the gluten-free grain to 1-2 meals a week. Avoid the highly processed carbs, including whole grains like pasta and bread. Sticking to real food carb and limited amounts of gluten-free grains will naturally keep your carb intake on the lower end. The amount of carbs will vary depending on your activity level.
Interesting bit of info on carbs: When you consume more carbs than your body can use at that moment, the excess gets converted into body fat. This is the body’s way of storing them for later use, like when famine hits. Totally natural process but it creates an issue today because famine is rare. Most people never have to tap into their fats stores because they eat to many carbs for their needs. So they continue to add to the fat stored on the body and never take from it, leading to obesity.
Sticking to real, whole foods and this way of building your plate will leave you feeling satisfied!! It will also nourish your body and mind!
While you have room to adjust your plate based on what your body is telling you it needs, on thing remains constant. You must focus on the quality of your food! Not all food is created the same. I will go into this more in next week’s Food Fact Friday post.
This is a simple approach to help make sure you are feeding your body well. Food should not be complicated. Eat should just eat in a well-balanced way.
There are exceptions to this plate. Sometimes you have a health issue you are trying to reverse or a goal you are trying to reach, in those times it is may be necessary to dial in your macros or avoid a food or food group all together. In times like those, it may be helpful to have assistance to work out the proper ratios, help find the foods that are aggravating the issue, or simply have some extra support. This is where a nutritional therapist, like myself, can help. I can be that support and help guide you through all the information. I can nourish you on your journey of nourishing your body.
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