Think your diet is pretty good do you? Maybe you don’t want to know how bad it actually is! Whether you love diets or you love eating, here is a questionnaire to help you determine how close you really are to achieving a healthy eating balance. It asks the eight most important questions on the food you consume each day and you must rate yourself in each category out of 10. The result gives you an indication of how close you will be to achieving your goals, be it weight loss or muscle gain.
Answer these questions each day.
1. Did I drink 30ml of water for every kilo I weigh (.45 oz/1lb)?
Hydration has a massive impact on health and body shape. Many people mistake hunger for thirst so make sure you are drinking at least 30ml for every kilo you weigh (or .45 oz for every pound you weigh) and add another 500ml for every half hour of exercise.
2. Total quantity of food:
An average 80kg man should consume about 2400 calories per day and an average 60kg woman should consume about 1752 calories per day. Most people get a feel for what their daily consumption should be, so this section needs to be scored lower if you ended up eating more or less than your daily requirement. Click here to work out your personal daily calorie consumption.
3. Size of my evening meal:
Most of us know the saying, “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”. Rate how close you stuck to this rule today?
4. How was my protein intake?
Women should eat about 1 gram of protein for every kilo that they weigh and men 1.5g/kg. Remember protein is in things like milk, lentils, legumes, beans, tofu, meat, and eggs. A piece of meat roughly the size of the palm of your hand has about 20-30grams of protein in it. Score yourself on your protein intake.
5. Did I eat 2-4 pieces of fruit today?
Preferably in the morning, and preferably consume different colours. Deep red fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, and blue berries have massive anti-oxidant properties and are known as cancer fighters. Score yourself on the quality and quantity of fruit eaten.
6. Did I eat (at least) 4-6 different coloured vegetables today?
Similar to fruit, different coloured vegies have different benefits for the body, so variety is the key. It is proven that organic produce has much higher nutritional content, and it tastes better. Eat these at lunch, and dinner.
7. Fat consumption today:
We know we need to eat 40- 70 g of fat per day so how close were you to that today?
See my article on 5 simple tips for losing body fat.
8. Activity levels:
A 10/10 would be the most active day you could imagine, equating to 3 hrs activity. A 5/10 or lower would indicate no structured exercise but maybe a walk to and from train station. Remember these scores are personal to you, and an active day for you might be a sluggish day for someone else so don’t compare!
Assessing your results:
- If you score a percentage of 70% or higher each day, this indicates you are eating the correct way and will therefore be losing fat, or gaining muscle (depending on your goal). Be sure to be weighing yourself or taking measurements as you will be getting good results after 2-4 weeks.
- If you are not sure of some of the amounts you currently are eating, please ask me!
- This exercise is very educational and teaches you to really think about what you put in your mouth. Don’t guess, get some help.
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