The average person wading through The Dietary Guidelines for Americans may shake her head and wonder what to do with it all. These federal guidelines, produced jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, aim to encourage diets high in nutritional value. By making nutritious food choices and reducing unhealthy foods and beverages, you gain control over weight management and your energy. A healthy diet helps prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Follow a streamlined map of the guidelines to compose a diet you can live with and enjoy.
Step 1
Track your current diet. Use the USDA's food tracker at mypyramid.gov to track everything you eat and drink. Pay attention to the quantities to get an accurate idea of your calorie intake. The tracker provides information on how your diet compares with the federal guidelines.
Step 2
Limit daily calories. For weight management, it's crucial to limit your calorie intake to match the calories you burn per day. Exceeding the number of calories you burn causes weight gain. Use MyPyramid.gov to determine an appropriate calorie intake for your nutritional diet plan. Check how the daily calorie recommendation compares with your recent diet.
Step 3
Write a grocery list composed of the basic food groups. Shop with a grocery list based on healthy foods recommended by the federal guidelines to control the nutritional value of the foods you include in your diet. Make most of your food purchases from the grocery store's outer aisles for whole grains, dairy, lean meats, fish, poultry, vegetables and fruits.
Step 4
Increase nutrient-dense foods. The federal dietary guidelines recommend vegetables, fruits, high-fiber whole grains, seafood, low-fat dairy, lean meat, poultry, eggs and nuts nutrient-dense foods. Add more servings of beans, peas and seafood for protein to your diet plan.
Step 5
Decrease saturated fat and added sugars. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend preparing your nutrient-dense foods without saturated fats and added sugar. Aim for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories from saturated fat, with the goal of cutting saturated fat to less than 7 percent.
Step 6
Reduce your overall fat intake. Aim to limit fat to 30 percent or less of your daily calories. Choose unsaturated fat from vegetable sources, such as olive oil and avoid trans fats.
Step 7
Limit alcohol consumption. Keep alcohol intake moderate, no more than two drinks a day for men and one for women. Reduce overall alcohol consumption if you need to lose weight.
Step 8
Decrease sodium in your diet. Excessive sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines say.
Tips and Warnings
- Make a habit of examining the nutrition facts labels on foods before putting them in the shopping cart. Choose foods with 30 percent or fewer calories from fat as much as possible and choose products that contain fiber over processed and refined products. Try making three changes each month. For example, this month, eat fish twice a week, add a serving of vegetables to each meal and use fresh fruit for dessert three times a week. Next month, reduce sweetened beverages, sugary cereals, desserts and sweets to one serving a day.
- Consult your doctor about any medical concerns.
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