Caring Medical
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Oak Park, Illinois 60301
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Proteins, Fats, and Carbs for an Otter

An Otter is someone who does well with a lot of protein and a much lower amount of carbs. Good overall health, weight loss, or sports performance can be better for you if you focus on high protein foods along with a good amount of healthy fats.

There is more to it than just knowing what foods to eat. You need to understand how much of those foods you should be taking in. Too much or too little of even the right foods can blow getting to your goals!

Protein
Over and underestimating how much food we eat is common. So the first step is finding out how much you are currently eating. Do you know how many ounces that chicken breast was last night on your plate? Finding out is easy. Get a good scale and weigh your foods before you eat them…after they are cooked! Although food needs are going to be different depending on the individual, if you are an Otter taking in less than 10 ounces of meat per day (or other protein equivalents)…you are probably not on the right track. It’s time to bump it up a notch!

Carbohydrates
Your overflowing cereal bowl in the morning is not a good sign for Otters. I think you would be surprised to find out what a serving of complex carbohydrates really looks like. If you think that just by decreasing your current portions at each meal will put you where you need to be, let’s find out for sure. As an Otter, having grains at each meal, no matter what the serving size, is probably too much in a day. Pick a meal to eliminate them from. This will help, but then you really do need to measure what your taking in to be sure that you are on the Otter path.

Fat
Even though you need to take in a good amount of fat, you need to be careful not to overdo it here. If you have a puddle of oil left after eating your salad, you are definitely putting on way too much dressing. A little bit of fat goes a long way. Portions on fat are hard to describe, but I think we all know when we are eating too much. On the other hand, if you have been a fat-phobic person in the past, you may actually need to increase the amount of healthy fats in your diet. This may take some convincing, but take a few days to see how much you have been consuming. Look at the oils, dressings, and nuts you eat on a daily basis.

Being aware of what you eat is the first step in changing your habits or making sure you are on the right track. Knowledge of food can be the key to good long term health. If you don’t know where to start, let us help. Do something good for yourself!