Dietary Components

If your calories are within the right range for you to lose weight, you should start to see some weight loss. However, sometimes if your dietary components are out of balance, you may find that your weight loss may be slower at times and you don't have enough energy to exercise regularly. Ensuring you provide your body with what it demands helps make your weight loss journey far more successful.

Water: 8 cups (8oz each), this is the recommendation for the individual who is sedentary and does not exercise at least 30 minutes 3 times each week. 12 cups is recommended for someone who exercises 3 days or more each week. 16 cups is recommended for the individual who is very active and may also consume a high protein diet.

Protein: 3-6 servings/day. Try to make these sources lean (low in fat). Look for protein sources that are primarily protein. Good examples include: Egg white, chicken or turkey breast, non-fat cottage cheese, low-fat cheese sticks.
Even though foods like peanut butter, beans and other dairy products have protein in them, these are not considered "primary protein" sources. For example, peanut butter has approximately 16g of fat in each serving with only 8g of protein. So, yes peanut butter does have protein, but there is far more fat in it than anything else.

Carbohydrates: 4-6 servings/day. Contrary to popular belief, these are not creations of Satan! Carbohydrates are necessary to give your body energy so that you can exercise and be more active in the day. However, there are some carbohydrates that will leave you with less energy and have a tendency to store on your body as fat.
Try to consume carbohydrates that are high in fiber and low in sugar. Whenever we eat foods that are high in sugar, our body has an immediate surge of energy and then a crash! To avoid these energy crashes, eat foods that contain more fiber. Fiber will help to delay digestion and increase the duration our bodies will make use of the energy from the high fiber food you just consumed.
Examples of quality carbohydrates that are higher in fiber: Brown rice (white rice acts like sugar), 100% whole wheat bread and pasta (enriched bread acts like sugar), potato with the skin (the skin has the fiber), oatmeal that is not instant (many instant oatmeals has the fiber removed), corn (even popcorn as long as it is low-fat).
When reading a label, look to see if the food has at least 3g of fiber/serving. This will indicate a quality carbohydrate.

Vegetables (non-starchy): 3-4 cups/day. Non-starchy means to make sure these vegetables are not high in calories or carbohydrates. This will include foods like: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, squash, all leafy green vegetables and typically what you would put on a salad (cucumbers, peppers, onions, etc) except the salad dressing.
Having one salad each day is a great way to meet your vegetable requirement.

Fruits: 3-5 servings/day. The key here is to make sure you are not consuming all the same fruit. So, 3 bananas do not work! However, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 nectarine, 1 plum work.
Also consider berries and dried fruit. A typical serving of berries will be about 1/2 cup and dried fruit would be 1/4 cup.

Dairy: 3 servings/day. Try to make your dairy sources low in fat. Dairy can be another source of a lot of extra calories, however skim milk is very low in calories and provides your body with essential calcium which is very hard to get from other sources of foods. 1 8oz cup of milk, 1 6oz container of yogurt and 1oz of cheese all count as a serving of dairy. Try not to consume more than the 3 servings each day.


By consuming all of these dietary components within your calorie target range, you will give your body the energy it needs to workout more effectively, increase your metabolism and probably feel better than you have in a long time.
However, remember sometimes even if you are eating the right foods, your energy level may not be where you want it to be. That may be because your spirit needs to be fed and not necessarily your mouth. Our bodies can't live on bread alone. We need God to fill that hunger!

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” John 6:26-28 (NLT)