Dismantling the Pyramid
No doubt, when you come to visit the beach, your dietary needs are tossed to the wind and, no doubt, you have all seen the Coastal Living magazine article The Best Boardwalk Bites. Familiar foods famous to Rehoboth Beach like Thrasher’s French Fries, calzones from Nicola Pizza, and many more are identified in the article. Don’t forget Coney Island Hot Dogs from Coney Island, New York (a big congratulations to New York for the passage of marriage equality last week!) and add to the list sausages from Jody Maroni’s’ Sausage Kingdom in Venice Beach, California.
These tasty tidbits can bring back memories of happy days at the beach, but you shouldn’t over-indulge. They sure do taste good but too much of these snacks on a regular basis can do some real damage to the diet. These foods, chosen in moderation, should be okay, but know there are pitfalls in the ingredients used to make these calorie laden snacks. Remember, a bucket (yes a bucket) of French fries is not a substitute for lunch or even dinner. Share the fries, caramel popcorn, fried dough, and sweet creamy fudge.
With the July 4th holiday upon us, use your good judgment not your stomach to make sensible dietary decisions. Don’t ditch your diet—you will pay for your overindulgence if you let it get out of control. A treat every now and then can be good, so enjoy it! That is a big part of what going to the beach is all about. Be realistic, when was the last time you heard anyone on the boardwalk yelling “let’s get a salad.” Save that for later.
While we are talking about food, I recently read that the food pyramid has been dismantled and now it has been re-invented as the “plate.” Yep, a food plate. It seems the food pyramid was too confusing. Now, the pyramid is simplified, and sugar, fats, and oils are gone. Gee, I like the food pyramid—it’s what I grew up eating. Progress marches on and now we have a dinner plate that is divided into four portions. The vegetable and grain quadrant are a bit more than half the plate when combined and are about the same size. Fruits and proteins make up the other two quadrants, and they too, are about the same size, but smaller than veggies and grains. The protein section now includes seafood and protein substitutes for vegetarians’. Now that is different. Also included is a smaller plate—kind of like a dessert size plate, for the dairy portion of the “my plate” schematic. Combined, it actually looks like a place setting for lunch or dinner. Surely it is a whole lot easier on the eyes and easier to visualize than the old pyramid. The government calls the plate progress and invites us to visit choosemyplate.gov to check it out. For me, I’m missing that complex food pyramid that I have been so familiar with for so long.
Plate or pyramid, doesn’t it all boil down to common sense eating? You know the difference when something is good or bad when it comes to your dietary needs. So, judge for yourself, but make the right choices; it is your body.
Rick Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness Professionals & Associates.