Eating Smart Quiz

My sister and I just stayed at home today because we didn't have anywhere to go to. Well, from what I know of, March 1 is the annual La Union Electric Parade, but it was really unfortunate that the parade will take place in the town of Agoo and not in the city of San Fernando. Well, Agoo is way too far from here, and considering the parade last year started 10pm despite the posted time of 6pm, I think this year is going to be the same, and should that happen, then getting home will be a difficult thing for me (and my sister).

Today, I just busied myself editing pictures for blogs (no free WiFi during daytime), and when brother called me, I asked where he kept his remaining back issues of FOOD and Yummy Magazines. I only browsed all the 2006 issues of FOOD Magazines, jotting down the recipes I would like to try in the future, and as I checked the pages of its April 2006 issue, I came across their article about Health and Wellness, and in it was a quiz. I decided to share the quiz here, and if you want you can answer it, too.

Eating Smart Quiz

1. I eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits every day. (yes or no)
2. I eat at least six servings of bread, rice, pasta, and cereal every day. (yes or no)
3. I drink reduced-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt, and seldom eat high-fat cheeses (yes or no)
4. I rarely eat high-fat meat like bacon, hotdogs, sausage, steak or ground beef. (yes or no)
5. I take it easy on high-fat based goods such as pies, cakes, cookies, sweet rolls, and doughnuts. (yes or no)
6. I rarely add butter, margarine, oil, sour cream, or mayonnaise to foods when I'm cooking or at the table. (yes or no)
7. I rarely (less than twice a week) eat fried foods. (yes or no)
8. I drink six to eight glasses of water a day. (yes or no)
9. I try to maintain a healthy weight at all times. (yes or no)
10. I am physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. (yes or no)
11. I usually take the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator. (yes or no)
12. I try to spend most of my free time being active, instead of watching television or sitting at the computer. (yes or no)
13. I never, or only occasionally, drink alcohol.

- - - - -

My answers:

1. I eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits every day. (yes or no)
> Sadly, this is a "no." Since my dad passed away, we seldom get to cook veggies, but I do eat veggies, but not as much as five servings per day. I am not a fruit person, so don't expect me to eat up enough servings of fruits.

2. I eat at least six servings of bread, rice, pasta, and cereal every day. (yes or no)
> Six servings? Hmmm... I don't know if I will answer yes or no because even if I only eat three major meals on most days (I don't eat in between meals snacks that much), I tend to eat a lot of rice covering six or maybe more servings. Considering this is "Eating Smart" quiz, then I guess I will answer "no."

3. I drink reduced-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt, and seldom eat high-fat cheeses (yes or no)
> I could say "yes," because it's true that I seldom eat cheeses, and I don't drink milk at all.

4. I rarely eat high-fat meat like bacon, hotdogs, sausage, steak or ground beef. (yes or no)
> "No." I love sausages, and I tend to eat it on most days of the week if mom ordered a kilo of it from the pork delivery person.

5. I take it easy on high-fat based goods such as pies, cakes, cookies, sweet rolls, and doughnuts. (yes or no)
> Hmmmm "yes!" I love cakes, but it is seldom that I got to eat cakes (and other foods mentioned), and when I do, I can only eat a slice of it.

6. I rarely add butter, margarine, oil, sour cream, or mayonnaise to foods when I'm cooking or at the table. (yes or no)
> I will answer "no" because I do love sauteeing my garlic and onion using butter and that I sometimes dip my corn chips in some mayonnaise.

7. I rarely (less than twice a week) eat fried foods. (yes or no)
> Checking my food log, February has been good - I ate lesser fried foods, so I will answer "yes."

8. I drink six to eight glasses of water a day. (yes or no)
> Oh yes! I love water!

9. I try to maintain a healthy weight at all times. (yes or no)
> Hahahahaha! Obviously this is a "no."

10. I am physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. (yes or no)
> I walk/jog for hours at least 4 days a week, so "yes."

11. I usually take the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator. (yes or no)
> "No," because there are no stairs nor elevators to take as I am not a corporate person.

12. I try to spend most of my free time being active, instead of watching television or sitting at the computer. (yes or no)
> My daily life revolves around TV and computer, so even if I am active for at least 30 minutes, I do spend most of my day sitting in front of my net book. A "no" for this.

13. I never, or only occasionally, drink alcohol.
> A very sounding "yes" to this.



- - - - -

Results:

• 0 - 4 Yes answers: Diet alert! Your diet is probably too high in fat and too low in plant foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. You may want to take a look at your eating habits and find ways to make some changes.
• 5 - 8 Yes answers: Not bad! You're halfway there! Look at your "no" answers to help you decide which areas of your diet need to be improved, or whether your physical activity level should be increased.
• 9 - 13 Yes answers: Good for you! You're eating smart. Keep up the good habits and eep looking for ways to improve.

- - - - -

Hmmm.... eating smart? Then why was there a question about physical activity? Hahahaha.... well, I did get six yes answers, so that puts me somewhere in the middle, but I do agree - I should find ways how to improve and that my physical activity should be increased. I am actually thankful that this month sister and I started jogging and walking, and that this vacation is allowing me to go out and walk around.



I did notice most of my clothes got smaller (hahaha... it meant I got bigger), and that I looked hideous on some "stolen" pictures taken of me, so it's really high time for me to change. I can't believe I let myself balloon this big again, I wasn't this big on the second half of 2010. Ugh.

To end this post, I will quote something off another back issue of FOOD Magazine: "Doing the same thing for at least 25 minutes will form into a habit." I am calling on Mr. Habit to come and be my boyfriend forever. :)

*** Jenn ***

ps - First picture was taken by Natalie of Halie's Kitchen, the other picture was taken by my sister.

Weight Loss Tip

I am a person who have always tried to lose weight, but it was just now that I really gave my whole heart in it. While back reading on my very first blog, I came across this comic strip:


Pugad Baboy by Pol Medina
Sent to me by a friend who wanted to remain anonymous, I really laughed when he sent this to me a few years ago. However, as a foodie, I don't think I could apply this to myself because I just love cooking and eating. I guess losing weight isn't solely based on not eating food. It's a combination of exercise and moderate eating. Being a foodie, I don't want to hinder myself in trying out new dishes and cooking recipes from different media. The way I can merge two things is to make sure I eat just enough even if the food tasted great. If I overeat somehow, I will just see to it that I double to exercise. After all, weight loss equals to burning more calories.

I still am living to eat, but instead of eating using big plates, I am using a saucer. Hahaha!

*** Jenn ***

Keeping a Food Log

Tuesdays are supposed to be about food talks from my siblings, however, with the demise of our desktop PC, I cannot access photo files from my siblings. Instead, I will just use this space for my own blahbbies. :)

While browsing the newspaper, I came across an article on "How to Keep a Food Log." It was just this week that I really put my heart into losing weight (yes, starting all over again - ugh... how many times have I started again and again)... I think this is the best thing for me to do foodwise, to keep track of what goes on into my body. That way, I would think twice whether I will eat something or not - because obviously, seeing a lot of written items on the journal would mean I ate a lot. But... am I ready for this? I hope I am.

Re-writing the tips, it said in the article:
1) Get a portable journal or go digital. - I guess I will do this both... I will write all of my food intakes in my planner so I can browse it from time to time, and I will also be brave enough to write it all down here on my blog (maybe I will just use the space for Saturday), so that it would be as powerful as its purpose. Of course, publishing all my food intake for everybody to read would also somehow allow people to comment about it - give inspirations or motivations.

2) Focus on portion size. - It said in the article to put in how much or how many of a certain food items you ate. It would really require a lot of effort to count just how much I ate, but then again, it would also be a good thing to stay true to the portions.

3) Don't forget the drinks. - Actually, I already thought about making some marks on our whiteboard just how many glasses of water I have taken during the day, but I still haven't done it. I guess now I really have to, but I will first measure the exact amount of water my little cup holds. Many articles say that we should drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday, some some about 2 liters... I would really like to know if I really am getting enough water in my system.

4) Write down everything. - Wow... this really make things more difficult to cheat, eh? Hehehehe. Publishing this post meant me agreeing to this, so okay... I will write down everything.

There are actually 12 tips on the original article, but the paper only trimmed it down. If you want to read the real article, just click HERE. On Saturday, I will write about the entry on my food log. Fitness, here I come!

cough cough.

*** Jenn ***