NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES 101

***Most of us have heard of the “Food Guide Pyramid” that had the basic 4 food groups. The bottom of the pyramid is best food group, narrowing up to next best and at the top “least” and “use sparingly.” Please compare and contrast the “Old Pyramid” and the “New Pyramid.”

(Old Pyramid) This USDA pyramid read as such from 1992-2005:

* Bread, cereal, rice & pasta group 6-11 servings
* Fruit group 2-4 servings
* Vegetable group 3-5 servings
* Milk, yogurt & cheese group 2-3 servings
* Meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs &
* Nuts group 2-3 servings
* Fats, oils, & sweets use sparingly

The healthiest nutritional strategy, summarized in the Healthy Eating Pyramid, includes

* Maintaining a stable, healthy weight
* Replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats;
* Substituting whole-grain carbohydrates for refined-grain carbohydrates;
* Choosing healthier sources of protein by trading red meat for nuts, beans, chicken, and fish;
* Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits;
* Using alcohol in moderation; and
* Taking a daily multivitamin for insurance.

Take a look at the New Healthy Eating Pyramid:

* DAILY EXERCISE AND WEIGHT CONTROL
* Whole grain foods (at most meals)
* Plant oils (olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils)
* Vegetables in abundance
* Fruits 2-3 times/day
* Nuts, legumes 1-3 times/day
* Fish, poultry, eggs 0-3 times/day
* Dairy or calcium,
* Supplement 1-2 times/day
* Red meat, white rice, white pasta, potatoes, soda, & sweets USE SPARINGLY

***We are not licensed Dieticians or Nutritionists and give you this information through our own research and learning. Please check with your doctor if you have any physical conditions that warrant a special diet of any kind.

Weight Loss and Lifestyle Tips

* Make a plan
* Stop dieting
* Set goals that are realistic for your life.
* Focus on power foods but do not deprive yourself of the foods you love even if you have deemed them “bad foods.”
* Think in terms of “moderation” not “deprivation.”
* Enlist the help of positive friends/family to hold you accountable to meeting those goals.
* Find ways to nourish and reward/give to you that are not food related.

“REMEMBER PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION” You always have a choice! Every day is a new beginning and you get a “do over.”

Integrate your life so that what you believe, think and feel is how you act where ever you are and whomever you are with…in other words BE AUTHENTIC!

The more authentically you live, the more content you will be and the more joy you will feel and be able to give to others.

Have faith.