QUANTICO, Va. - Keeping New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier will be as simple as stopping on red, going on green and exercising some judgment on yellow. As part of the Fueled to Fight program, which Semper Fit started rolling out across the Marine Corps last year, chow halls will soon be stocked with pamphlets illustrating the “stoplight menus” that will follow next year.
In addition to suggesting serving sizes and the amount of real estate each food group should be allotted on a plate, the pamphlet lists examples of each food group under green (“engage at will”), yellow (“well-aimed shots”) and red (“check fire”) headings. The literature should be in circulation mid-month.
“We’re going to go ahead and get these Marines fit and trim, and ready for combat,” said Master Sgt. Eric Joseph, the base food technician.
Already, he said, chow hall menus have been adding healthier options, and after the Marine Corps’ food management information system is updated, new menus will be produced, with each item color-coded according to the stoplight model.
Meanwhile, the pamphlets provide diners with information they can use in or out of the chow halls, Joseph said.
Semper Fit dietician Lauren King said the color-coding will make her job easier and help Marines use the information she gives them. Changing habits can begin with simple, achievable goals, King said.
“And that’s what I really like about Fueled to Fight, is it does make it easier for them to make those healthy choices. All they have to do is look for the green.”
While most Marines know they shouldn’t be getting lunch from a fast food drive-through, she said, many who are struggling to meet weight standards still aren’t aware of exactly which foods to avoid and which ones they can eat without concern. The new pamphlet, which King helped develop, and the coming menus will make those choices clear.
“Now it’s a no-brainer,” Joseph said. “I know that if I need to make weight, I need to stay away from red.”
Under the stoplight system, foods are categorized by the percentage of their calories that come from fat, as well as the percentage that come from saturated fat. To make the cut for “green,” fewer than 30 percent of calories can come from fat, with fewer than 10 percent coming from saturated fat. Exceptions to the rules of categorization include foods like whole eggs and nuts, which have a lot of fat but are healthy, as well as energy drinks and soda, which don’t contain fat but are nonetheless unhealthy due to their sugar content.
King said education can go a long way toward helping Marines make small changes that will affect their fitness. “Part of my goal is not just to stress the importance of nutrition, but also to make it realistic and reachable.”
— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com
| Date Taken: |
12.13.2012 |
| Date Posted: |
12.19.2012 10:03 |
| Story ID: |
99528 |
| Location: |
QUANTICO , VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: |
102 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Stoplight model to guide Marines’ chow choices, by Michael DiCicco, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Subscribe
