{"id":4133,"date":"2025-02-22T07:28:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/what-does-a-balanced-meal-look-like.html"},"modified":"2025-02-22T07:28:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:28:31","slug":"what-does-a-balanced-meal-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/what-does-a-balanced-meal-look-like.html","title":{"rendered":"What Does a Balanced Meal Look Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the galaxy of tech and fad diets that have recently emerged, many of us have become obsessed with \u201chacking\u201d our nutrition. Along the way, however, we\u2019ve forgotten about an essential concept: balance.<\/p>\n<p>Yep, a balanced meal \u2014 that subject of elementary-school wheels and pyramids \u2014 goes a long way toward helping you realize your fitness goals, no matter what they may be.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is a Balanced Meal?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cA balanced diet will be different for each person, but all should have in common several traits including variety, moderation, adequate nutrient intake, and avoiding excess calories,\u201d says Cary Kreutzer, EdD, MPH, RDN, FAND, an associate clinical professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.<\/p>\n<p>How do you put that into practice? Look at each component of your meal as a portion of a plate.<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and adjunct professor of nutrition at NYU, says this breakdown is ideal (and can help with\u00a0portion control):<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/2 the plate should be\u00a0<strong>fruits and\/or veggies<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>1\/4 should be\u00a0<strong>healthy starch<\/strong>\u00a0(like brown rice, quinoa, or sweet potato)<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 should be\u00a0<strong>healthy protein<\/strong>\u00a0(like fish, chicken, beans, or eggs)<\/li>\n<li>Sprinkle in some added\u00a0<strong>healthy fat<\/strong>, like olive oil or avocado<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThroughout the day, according to current guidelines, you should aim for 45 to 65 percent carbs, 20 to 35 percent fat, and 10 to 35 percent protein,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it\u2019s more important to focus on making healthy food choices than obsessing about the exact macronutrient ratio for each meal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other experts we spoke with agreed.<\/p>\n<h2>Elements of a Balanced Meal<\/h2>\n<p>So you don\u2019t need to get too hung up on precise calculations. Here\u2019s what you\u00a0do\u00a0need to do:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry to get whole grains, vegetables, lean or plant-based proteins, and fruits into every meal,\u201d advises\u00a0Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, a clinical inpatient dietitian at the Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn average, it\u2019s a good idea to incorporate three to four servings of vegetables and one to two servings of fruit per meal. It\u2019s not as much as you think: cooked vegetables are generally 1\/2 cup servings and raw vegetables are about 1 cup servings,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>And variety is important. \u201cWhen we eat a variety of foods, we will likely meet our vitamin and mineral needs,\u201d says Kreutzer. \u201cThe old saying, \u2018Eat the rainbow\u2018 holds true today. The colors in fruit and vegetables provide different vitamins and minerals along with healthy fiber to feed our gut microbiome.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>4 Common Meal Mistakes<\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll want to avoid these four pitfalls experts say they see all the time.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Over-consuming protein<\/h3>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-164248\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18152059\/balanced-meal-600-protein.png\" alt=\"Variety of High Protein Food | Balanced Meal\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe typical American diet is higher in protein than the Recommended Daily Allowance suggests,\u201d says Kreutzer. If you consume more protein than your body can use, the body converts it into glucose or fat, which can lead to weight gain.<\/p>\n<p>The current\u00a0RDA for protein\u00a0is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>46 grams of protein per day for a woman aged 14 to 65<\/li>\n<li>56 grams per day for a man aged 14 to 65<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIf you consider that 3 ounces of meat contains 21 grams of protein, 1 cup of milk has 8 grams of protein and a slice of bread or cup of cereal has 3 grams of protein, it\u2019s easy to see how one can exceed their daily needs,\u201d says Kreutzer.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re active or building muscle, you may need more protein. Read more about\u00a0How Much Protein Do You Need?<\/p>\n<h3>2. Eating too much starch<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-164249\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18152108\/balanced-meal-600-starch.png\" alt=\"Plate of Spaghetti | Balanced Meal\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest mistake many people make is eating too much starch and not enough veggies,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHalf the plate should be veggies or fruits, and healthy starch should be one-fourth. Many people do it the other way around and fill up on too many white\/refined grains, like white rice and pasta instead of brown rice and whole grain pasta,\u201d she advises.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Simple carbs and processed foods<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-164245\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18152039\/balanced-meal-600-carbs.png\" alt=\"Sweets | Balanced Meal\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarbohydrate intake should focus on\u00a0whole grains\u00a0and whole fruits and vegetables instead of\u00a0simple sugars\u00a0found in sweets, treats, or ice cream,\u201d says Kreutzer.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because simple sugars burn faster than their more complex counterparts, spiking blood glucose levels before precipitating steep drops.<\/p>\n<p>That typically makes you crave more, which is what often leads to weight gain and other potential problems.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Avoiding all fat<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-164246\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18152046\/balanced-meal-600-fats.png\" alt=\"Avocado Toast | Balanced Meal\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFat is a necessary nutrient, and consuming\u00a0polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats\u00a0while limiting saturated animal fats is recommended,\u201d says Kreutzer.<\/p>\n<p>Examples of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats include plant-based oils\u00a0(olive, avocado), whole avocados, nuts and seeds.<\/p>\n<p>Remember \u2014 it\u2019s OK to keep it simple.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I think of a balanced diet, I don\u2019t necessarily think of breaking down everything into its constituent parts,\u201d says Hunnes. \u201cI tend to think more about the quality of the foods that I am eating. Generally, if you are eating a wide variety of whole-foods, plant-based proteins, a ton of vegetables, whole grains, and fruits, it doesn\u2019t matter too much about proportioning them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the galaxy of tech and fad diets that have recently emerged, many of us have become obsessed with \u201chacking\u201d our nutrition. Along the way, however, we\u2019ve forgotten about an essential concept: balance. Yep, a balanced meal \u2014 that subject of elementary-school wheels and pyramids \u2014 goes a long way toward helping you realize your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4135,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133\/revisions\/4135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}