Progress Prompts

Are fresh vegetables and fruits on your food plan?
Absolutely. If they weren't, there is no way that I could have come this far!

How many servings do you consume every day? Do you think you're eating enough?
mmm..I have fruit and/or juice with my breakfast, every day. I have a piece of fruit for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. I have raw veggies with my lunch each day (and usually some cooked veg too) and fruit with lunch as well. Dinner is always veggie heavy. We generally have four or five different types of vegetable (at least with dinner) plus onion, garlic and ginger. We also eat a lot of fresh herbs. Fresh produce is a very huge deal in our house.

We know how vital vegetables and fruits are to our weight loss program, yet we have a hard time getting in all our recommended amounts in. Why? Were they part of your diet as a kid? Any tip or trick on getting all our vegetables and fruits in?
I'm not sure why folks have trouble with this. They are so delicious and filling when they are fresh. I think that a good trick to purchase produce several times a week instead of just once a week. If you buy a huge pile of it once a week, by the time you get to the end of the week, it's probably not very tasty or fresh anymore and you'll not enjoy it much. Fresh produce was very much a part of my childhood although my mother wasn't big into variety. She ate a lot of green and yellow beans, carrots, corn, peas and salad (consisting mostly of lettuce, tomato, cabbage and celery).

My tips for getting more fruit and veg into your day is find things that you really like and have them for snacks. Fruit or vegetable juice is a great way to do this! Have a small glass of juice and a piece of fruit for a snack...or some raw veggies and a low fat dip with your meals. I think that variety is pretty important too, don't be afraid to try something you've never had before. It may turn out that something you thought was weird and gross is a vegetable that you'll really love!