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Lesson Plan Four - Using Fruits
and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight
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Nutrition Tip: Eating More Fruits and Vegetables
Physical Activity Tip:
A Workout in the Garden
Behavior Tip: Putting Vegetables on the Shopping List
Handouts:
- How to use fruits and vegetables to manage your
weight
Additional Items Needed: None
Class: (Print
Version) 
Nutrition Tip - Eating More Fruits and
Vegetables
You can pick foods that will fill you up and not
provide many calories because of the volume or the foods' density. In
other words, foods like fruits and vegetables take up more space than
juice or candy, but offer fewer calories. Foods like fruit and
vegetables are called low-energy, dense foods. High-energy dense foods
will give you many calories in a small space. For example, you can get
100 calories by eating two slices of thin, crisp bacon or you can eat
two cups of a non-starchy vegetable, like green beans!
Eating low-energy, dense foods help you feel full,
reduce your hunger and decrease the calories eaten. Water and fiber in
foods increase volume and thereby reduce energy density. In their
natural state, fruits and vegetables have high water and fiber content
and are low in calories and energy density. (Handout)
In studies lasting longer than six months, the
weight loss was three times greater in persons who ate foods of low
energy density (low in fat and high in fiber) than in those who simply
ate low-fat foods. The research compared eating apples (2.9 percent
fiber) to apple puree and apple juice. The results were that the
apples provided a higher feeling of being satisfied and full than the
apple purée or fiber-free apple juice. Another study compared whole
oranges (2.5 percent fiber) to orange juice (fiber free) and whole
grapes (1.3 percent fiber) to grape juice (fiber free). Again, the
whole fruit was more satisfying than juice.
Additional studies find that adding vegetables to
meals (about 200 grams) enhances the feeling of being full. Two
hundred grams is equal to about 1 to 1 ½ cups, depending on the
vegetable.
What does this mean to you? To lose weight, you must
eat fewer calories than you use. Adding fruits and vegetables to an
existing diet that supplies sufficient calories or has more calories
than needed can cause you to gain weight. Fruits and vegetables should
be substituted for foods high in energy density. Instead of one,
six-ounce serving of orange juice (85 calories), chose a medium orange
and consume only 65 calories and get much more fiber and volume.
Vegetables tend to be lower in calories than fruit, so substituting
more vegetables than fruit for foods of higher energy density can be
helpful in a weight management plan.
The
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fifth Edition (2000),
published by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human
Services, recommends that people eat more servings of vegetables than
fruits in a healthy eating plan.
Physical Activity Tip - A Workout in the
Garden
Just consider the workout you get from gardening.
Between edging and raking the lawn, walking back and forth to the
mulch pile, pulling weeds, digging holes and planting seeds, gardening
uses all of the major muscle groups. Even small gardens need
attention. And it's not just the physical effort that makes gardening
beneficial: the release of stress and the enjoyment it provides is
also important. Remember to engage your abs when gardening, especially
when bending or lifting objects. A good cool-down and stretch for the
back and hamstrings at the end is a good idea.
Behavior Change Tip - Putting Vegetables on
the Shopping List
Just thinking about eating more fruits and
vegetables is only the first step. The most important step, putting
them in your mouth, may not come naturally. Take the time to think
through the steps that it will take you to eat more fruits and
vegetables. Perhaps you need to go through the recipe file to find a
new way to fix an old favorite. Make a menu and write down the items
you'll need to remember to buy. Store the healthy food in clear view
in the refrigerator so you will not forget about it and have to throw
it out later. Whatever steps you need to take, do them this week.
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