Diet Plans for Woman

When planning a healthy diet, women need to consider energy needs as well as nutrition and long-term health. A balanced diet provides a conscious mix of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Lean-protein choices and an emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains can help you manage calories. The amount and types of fat in your diet also impact your health and your weight.

Significance

A healthy diet for women supports weight management, provides adequate nutrition and promotes heart health. Meal planning that meets your calorie needs but neglects to accommodate balanced nutrition can sabotage your health goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages women to consume a heart-healthy diet, noting that heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in the U.S.

Identification

Women generally need less calories to maintain or lose weight than men need. Your age and lifestyle impact your calorie needs. Adult women up to age 30 that are moderately active should consume approximately 2,000 to 2,200 calories to maintain their weight, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Moderately active women 31 to 50 years of age need about 2,000 calories, and women over 50 need 1,800 calories to support the same level of activity. If you're more active, add 200 calories to support weight maintenance; if you're less active, subtract 200 calories.

Features

Since women need to eat a heart-healthy diet, saturated and trans fats should be limited. To support heart health, the American Heart Association recommends that everyone limit saturated fat to 7 percent of total calories and eliminate trans fats from the diet. The Office of Women's Health cautions women to also limit cholesterol, sodium and added sugars, noting that women should eat mainly fruits and vegetables, grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, lean proteins and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Eating Plans

The Office of Women's Health names four diets that can help women choose heart-healthy, nutritionally-balanced eating plans: the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet, the Heart Healthy Diet, the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, or TLC, diet and the MyPyramid eating plan. All four address nutritional needs and limit foods that contribute to heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. Each of these diets can be personalized to match your calorie needs and goals.

Considerations

Although eating right and taking care of your heart are important, you also need to reach and maintain a healthy weight. If you need to lose weight, reduce your caloric intake by 250 to 500 calories a day and exercise at least 30 minutes each day.

Women need different amounts of dietary iron at various life stages. Adult women up to age 50 need 18 mg of iron daily, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. After age 50, the daily recommendation decreases to 8 mg. Pregnant women need 27 mg, and lactating women need 9 mg. Red meats, fish and poultry are good sources of iron, as are legumes, spinach and fortified foods. To increase the absorption of iron from plant foods, pair them with vitamin C-rich foods.