week 4 itinerary:
EAT N IN!
Eat out less frequently
This week, in order to continue your quest toward more N-ergy, this
module will focus on examples and strategies that will support you to
begin to eat meals out less frequently, encourage you to make a plan
so that you are prepared to eat from home, and provide you some
strategies for grocery shopping on a budget. The last page of this
itinerary will help you to determine your daily calorie needs for weight
loss and provide you with a few resources to assist you with calorie
management, should weight loss be your goal. The broader food
environment in America today can be unsupportive when it comes to
eating healthy and managing your weight. High calorie, fast, and
convenience foods are readily available, easily accessible and generally
not healthy. In a recent survey, Americans listed eating out as their
number-one leisure activity. Why focus on limiting eating out or
planning meals? Because in general, eating out brings about
consumption of excess calories, fat and sodium, to name a few
nutrients. And in order to eat out less frequently, you will need to plan
meals. This is not to say that you cannot eat healthy meals out, but
often times it can be difficult to find healthy options or it is difficult to
choose them, especially if there are less healthy items you are used to
ordering or that you enjoy very much. This week, set your goal to plan
meals and eat out less, not only will you likely save calories, but you’ll
save money too!
STATISTIC: To achieve healthier eating
habits, Americans should aim to eat less
fast and restaurant food!
GOAL: To improve health and fitness by
limiting meals out, drinking water,
eating more fruits & vegetables and
increasing daily steps.
OBJECTIVE: Record meals out, water
intake, fruits and vegetables eaten and
steps accumulated each day
This week’s raffle prizes are:
RAFFLE TICKET OPPORTUNITIES:
do these and receive one ticket for each
[1] Record when you eat out
[2] Record the fruits and vegetables
eaten every day
[3] Record steps every day
[4] Record water every day
[5] Eat zero or one meal out
[6] Attend scheduled N-ergy activities –
one ticket/activity
How
often
do you
eat
out?
This week, one of
your goals will be to
eat out less than
usual. Keep in mind
this may require
some additional
planning. Use this
chart to plan for
what you will do
instead of eating
out. The more
specific you can be,
the more likely you
are to follow
through.
“A Goal
without a
plan is
simply a
wish “
DAY
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Approximately how many meals per week do you currently eat out?
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner
Can your
waistline afford
meals out?
Many fast food and restaurant establishments serve popular items that contain large amounts of calories, fat,
and sodium. The calories of foods listed below from popular “chains” are compared to the equivalent amounts
of physical activity a 150 pound person would need to accomplish in order to “burn” them off. The next time you
might be considering an extra late-night meal from a restaurant, consider the chart below first.
Pizza Hut
Personal
Pan
Pizza® –
Pepperoni
Taco Bell
Nachos
Supreme
Jimmy
Johns
Turkey
Tom®
Sandwich
Jack N the
Box Bacon,
Egg,
Cheese
Biscuit
In and Out
DoubleDouble®
=
(660 calories,
30 grams fat,
1610mg
sodium)
1 hour of
jogging!
=
(430 calories,
24 grams fat,
800mg sodium)
45 min. of
mountain
biking!
=
(555 calories,
26 grams fat,
1341mg
sodium)
55 min. of
stair
climbing!
=
(430 calories,
25 grams fat,
1100mg
sodium)
1 hour & 10
min. of
dancing!
PF Chang’s
Chicken
Lettuce
Wraps
Wendy’s
10-piece
Chicken
Nuggets
Chili’s Big
Mouth®
Bacon
Burger
=
(670 calories,
41 grams fat,
1440mg
sodium
1 hour & 20
min. of
swimming!
=
(432 calories,
13 grams fat,
sodium not
listed)
2 hours of
lifting
weights!
=
(460 calories,
30 grams fat,
1040mg
sodium)
2 hours &
40 min. of
yoga!
=
(1080 calories,
71 grams fat,
1660mg
sodium)
4 hours &
30 minutes
of walking!
CASE STUDY:
Stan, the eatin’ out man!
To provide perspective on how eating out can negatively
affect one’s weight, nutrition status, and ultimately
health, let’s take a look at Stan. Stan likes to eat fast
food every day at lunch. He works full time, is taking 12
credits, and reports that he has no time to cook. Stan
likes to stop by McDonald’s for lunch every weekday. He
typically orders a Quarter Pounder® with cheese, large
french fries, and a 32oz chocolate shake. Stan stands 6
feet tall, weighs approximately 200 pounds, and is
currently not concerned about his weight. He does play
intramural volleyball 2 times per week, but other than
that Stan spends much of his day seated at work or
studying. At 200 pounds and taking into account his
activity level, Stan requires approximately 2,500 calories
per day to maintain his weight. In general, to be
healthy, Stan also requires approximately 60 grams fat
or less, 20 grams saturated fat or less, 2400mg sodium
or less, and 25 grams fiber or more each day.
How many calories are
in Stan’s lunch alone?
+
+
Approximately
2,140!
Nutrition breakdown:
78 grams fat, 31 grams
saturated fat, 2050 mg
sodium, 11 grams fiber
Look out Stan!
Eating out so often, Stan is likely on the path to gaining weight, which means he may one day be at risk for health
problems. Let’s now take a look at what Stan could eat for lunch instead, for the same number of calories and
superior nutrition, if he brought a lunch from home. Stan could have approximately 3 homemade turkey
sandwiches, 40 baby carrots, 4 apples, 3 cups homemade vegetable soup, 2 glasses of skim milk, and one 3
Musketeers bar!!!
Nutrition breakdown:
2139 calories, 50 grams fat,
14 grams saturated fat,
2010 mg sodium, 35 grams
fiber
Is Stan likely to eat this much? Probably not; but, this example illustrates how
eating out can often provide many more calories, fat and sodium than we
need. If he ate one-quarter of the food above (still a lot of food!) he would
save 1500 calories compared to the meal out! He would also be eating more
vitamins and minerals.
Fast Food Facts:
“On any given day in the U.S. about 25% of the adult population visits a fast food restaurant.”
“In 1970 Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000 they spent more than $110 billion.”
“The typical American consumes approximately 3 hamburgers and 4 orders of French fries every week.”
“There are approximately 28,000 McDonalds world-wide.”
“A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96% could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional
character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus.”
-Compiled from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
You
can eat
1. Plan menus and make a list. A sure way to overspend is by wandering through the
healthy
supermarket’s Web site. Many feature tools for planning and pricing meals.
on a
budget
…
grocery store aisles tossing whatever looks good into your cart. Instead, plan menus and
make a shopping list that you can stick to. Look for menu planning and recipe help on your
2. Use coupons and reward cards. Inserts in your local paper have anywhere from $50 to
$75 worth of coupons in them. Clipping coupons or printing them from Websites,
coupons.com for example, can save you 10% to 15% on your grocery bill.
3. Buy store brands. Private label brands are often 15% to 20% more expensive than
their national brand counterparts while the quality of food may match the national brand.
4. Compare unit prices. Use the unit price to compare national brands with store and
generic brands. Many stores show the unit price on the shelf tag.
5. Buy frozen or canned produce. Buying produce that is frozen or canned can mean less
food wasted, particularly since fresh fruits and vegetables can often spoil if they aren’t
eaten.
Healthy Eating Resources
Want to know more about eating a healthfully? The following list of resources can
provide you with further information.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): www.mypyramid.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov
American Heart Association: www.americanheart.org
Knowing your
personal calorie
balance
When you obtained your body composition assessment at week one, you were given your Total Energy
Expenditure (TEE). TEE is the number of calories your body uses each day to maintain itself at your current
weight. It is useful to know our own personal calorie balance because it will determine how much you need to
eat to lose, maintain or gain weight. If weight loss is your goal, it may be helpful to calculate how many
calories you should consume each day in order to create a calorie deficit and start losing weight. How do you
create a calorie deficit? Eating fewer food calories than your daily needs (TEE), burning calories through
physical activity, or a combination of both.
A safe rate of weight loss equals approximately 1 to 2 pounds per week. Your individual rate of weight loss
may vary somewhat depending on your age, your gender, your metabolism, and how physically active you are.
It is also important to note that in order to receive adequate nutrition, women should not consume less than
1200 calories per day and men should not consume less than 1500 calories per day. It is of particular
importance to fuel your body consistently with balanced meals containing adequate nutrients, so that your
body and your brain can function optimally. To lose weight, counting calories can be helpful for some, for
others it may be more effective to begin to make small dietary changes and avoid counting calories. Either
way, calorie knowledge can be important.
To lose 1 pound per week
subtract 500 calories from your TEE. This is the number of calories you should eat each day in order to
lose 1 pound per week, not including any exercise that you might do.
Example: (TEE) 2300 calories – 500 calories = 1800 calories/day to lose 1 pound per week
Interested in knowing more about calories and weight loss?
UNR Student Health Center Registered Dietitians can provide you with more guidance or several websites
can assist you in tracking how many calories you are eating each day so that you can begin to learn about
calories in the foods you eat and how to manage them. A few examples of websites are given below, but
there are many available.
www.sparkpeople.com (free website to track your daily intake)
www.calorieking.com (website providing calories of thousands of foods)