Take a good look at these pictures.

NHS Choices

The types of foods we eat, and the choices that we make, have an enormous impact for attaining a healthy weight, maintaining it, and especially when trying to lose pounds.

What kind of foods will provide you with “More Fuel” for your body with “Less Fat” with respect to losing weight?

Choosing foods based on their “food density” can help you lose weight and feel full at the same time. What that means is that “dieting” is not about “starving” yourself. It is about the types and amount of food that you eat.

When you scroll through NHS Choices, you’ll see that with fruits and vegetables, you’re able to eat a much larger serving than with any of the other foods.

So, what how can this work for proper weight management and weight loss?

We at Iowa Avenue like to say “It’s about a Healthy Lifestyle.”

Therefore, by adding vegetables and fruits to your meals will increase the amount of food you’re able to eat, in order to feel full and satisfied, but will not significantly increase the number of calories you eat.

In addition, when you want to eat snacks--fruits are easily transported for taking to work, school, or anywhere else, and are an excellent alternative to high fat and sugar snack foods.

Now, I know you’re telling yourself, “I can’t live on just fruits and vegetables.” And that would be a true statement.

You have to include additional foods in order to maintain a balanced diet. If you continue to look at NHS Choices, you’ll see that there are quite a few other kinds of foods to compare and contrast that equal 120 calories.

For example, a small roasted chicken leg, a ½ cup of baked beans, 4 slices of low fat ham, or thin crackers with reduced fat cream cheese, are all 120 calories.

Knowing the caloric content of food is one of the best ways to help you make informed choices about your eating plan and for proper weight management.

So next time, you’ll have a much better understanding of what 120 calories is.

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

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