Every soldier’s body is different, which means your nutritional needs, caloric output, and response to physical stressors are different from your battle buddy’s. Zeroing in on the right balance of diet and exercise can take a while. The guidelines and tips in this chapter can help you get there.
Eating right isn’t just about losing weight or bulking up, either; it’s about developing good eating patterns that will improve your health as you age.
Basic dietary guidelines for soldiers
The Army may not have specific guidelines its soldiers are supposed to stick to, but it does offer these general nutrition tips, backed by science:- Eat sufficient calories so that you’re lean and energetic, but not so many that you gain body fat.
- Focus on complex carbohydrates. Carbs are your body’s first choice for energy, so you need them to power up during the day.
- Pick healthy fats, but use them in moderation. These fats are good for your overall health. Some sources of healthy fats include avocado; whole eggs; fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, and sardines; nuts; and dark chocolate (preferably with over 70 percent cocoa solids, and watch for sugar content).
- Watch your protein intake. Studies have shown that you can absorb only between 20 and 30 grams of protein at a time, so don’t overdo it.
- Stay hydrated. Water isn’t a crutch, so don’t treat it that way!
- Plan to eat three meals and two snacks every day. Try to avoid long stretches where you don’t eat.
- Choose variety. Don’t get into a rut; pick a variety of foods so you can enjoy a balanced diet.
- 2 cups of fruit
- 3 to 4 cups of vegetables
- 8 to 10 ounces of grains
- 3 cups of dairy
- 6 ounces of protein
Help yourself to healthy eating patterns
An eating pattern is an overall look at the way you consume food. If you do it correctly, barring any medical conditions or other factors that throw off your body’s natural balance, a healthy eating pattern supports a healthy body weight while reducing your risk for chronic disease. When you establish a healthy eating pattern, you can meet your nutritional needs without going over the limits for unhealthy ingredients, like saturated fats, added sugar, and sodium.You should aim to meet all (or at least most of) your nutritional needs through food. All kinds of foods count, whether they’re fresh, canned, dried, or frozen, as long as they’re nutrient-dense.
Some professionals say you should eat every two hours to boost your metabolism, while others say you can stick to three meals a day. The fact is, though, that every soldier’s body is different. Here’s a good rule of thumb: You should wait between three and five hours between full meals because that’s the average time your stomach takes to empty into your small intestine. One of the benefits to waiting this amount of time is that you can be sure you’re eating because you’re hungry—not just out of habit or as an emotional response.
If you wait too long between meals, you may suffer from a lack of focus, irritation (you may know it as being hangry), shakiness, low energy, and low blood sugar levels. Even worse, by the time you eat, you feel like you’re starving so you’re more likely to overstuff yourself.
In the Army, you can’t always stick to a healthy eating pattern. Two weeks in the field with MREs and green mermites can throw off the best-laid plans, and NTC or JRTC can really knock you off the wagon. The important thing is that you hop back on as soon as you’re able.Putting the brakes on sodium, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars
Food and Drug Administration guidelines released in January 2020 say that you shouldn’t get more than 2,300 milligrams per day of sodium, and that no more than 10 percent of your caloric intake should come from added sugar and saturated or trans fats.In your day-to-day diet, checking the labels of the foods you eat will give you a pretty good idea about how close you’re getting to your daily limits of sodium, added sugar and saturated or trans fats. For example, if your daily diet consists of taking in 2,000 calories per day, no more than 200 calories of that should come from added sugar and bad fats. To put that into perspective, a 12-ounce can of cola is 180 calories. The following sections break down some places you can find these ingredients.
Sodium
Some foods are extremely high in sodium, and you really need very little of it to maintain a healthy balance. Unfortunately, that means a lot of foods—including canned vegetables—may have more sodium than you bargained for. Some of the worst offenders are processed meat (including bacon and deli-sliced sandwich meat); frozen breaded meats and dinners; canned entrees, like chili; and salted nuts.Buttermilk, cheese, and cottage cheese tend to have high sodium, and so do pancake mixes, pizza, and prepackaged mixes for potatoes, rice, stuffing, and pasta. Pickled vegetables and commercially prepared pasta, salsa, canned soup, ramen noodles, and soy sauce are also no-gos if you’re cutting your sodium intake.
Use sea salt in moderation. Even though sea salt is pushed as a healthier alternative, it has the same basic nutritional value as standard table salt. Sea salt can include minerals like magnesium, but it contains comparable amounts of sodium to table salt by weight.
Saturated and trans fats
When you’re trimming saturated fats, try skipping foods like- Desserts and baked goods
- Ice cream and other dairy-based desserts
- Most cheeses
- Whole milk and full-fat dairy foods
- Sausages, hot dogs, bacon, and ribs
- Ground beef and cuts of meat with visible fat
- Fried chicken or chicken with the skin on
- French fries that are fried in saturated fat or hydrogenated oil
Added sugar
Added sugar is added to, well, almost everything. You find it in granola that’s promoted as a healthy alternative to sugary cereal, lowfat yogurt, barbecue sauce and ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and most sports drinks. Protein bars, flavored waters, and canned soups also contain unusually high amounts of added sugar; some of them are right up there with candy bars. You don’t have to force yourself to read every label, though, as long as you’re eating whole foods (like fruits, vegetables, and meats).Playing with portion control
Portion control simply means regulating how much of any food makes its way to your plate. You can take some of the guesswork out of it by using smaller dinnerware and visualizing a pie chart or the plate in the figure as you fill it up. At each meal, allow only a quarter of your plate for complex carbs (starchy vegetables or whole grains), a quarter for protein (meat, poultry, fish, or eggs), and the remaining half for vegetables or salad. That breakdown is only a guide, though.
Portion control in practiceVegetables and salad are naturally low in calories, but they’re high in fiber and other nutrients. The fiber in most veggies can fill you up more quickly, so focusing on eating more of them is often a good idea if you feel your portions of other foods are too small. Vegetables may not be your favorite foods, but your body needs them; when you infuse your system with all the right vitamins and minerals, your body can perform at its best.
Before you eat a meal, drink an 8-ounce glass of water. Being well-hydrated helps your brain figure out whether you’re hungry or thirsty, and the water takes up plenty of room in your stomach (as well as aids digestion).
Treat yo' self: Giving yourself a pass to indulge sometimes
Theoretically, if you want to be healthier or lose weight, cutting out all your favorite junk food makes sense. However, I’m going to tell you that you should still indulge yourself from time to time—and that’s because I want you to be as healthy as you possibly can.When you can still enjoy your favorite foods, you’re more likely to stick to overall healthy eating patterns. You’re also more likely to put in a few extra minutes on the treadmill (I know I do). Indulging from time to time can help you enjoy holidays and special events without worrying about every single calorie, too. And the best part? Your body will be fine (as long as you’re indulging in moderation).