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How many servings are right for me?

The Pyramid shows a range of servings for each major food group. The number of servings that are right for you depends on how many calories you need, which in turn depends on your age, sex, size, and how active you are. Almost everyone should have at least the lowest number of servings in the ranges.

The following calorie level suggestions are based on recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences and on calorie intakes reported by people in national food consumption surveys.

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For young children

It is hard to know how much food children need to grow normally. If you're unsure, check with your doctor. Preschool children need the same variety of foods as older family members do, but may need less than 1,600 calories. For fewer calories they can eat smaller servings. However, it is important that they have the equivalent of 2 cups of milk a day.

For you

Now, take a look at the table below. It tells you how many servings you need for your calorie level. For example, if you

are an active woman who needs about 2,200 calories a day, 9 servings of breads, cereals, rice, or pasta would be right for you. You'd also want to eat about 6 ounces of meat or alternates per day. Keep total fat (fat in the foods you choose as well as fat used in cooking or added at the table) to about 73 grams per day. If you are between calorie categories, estimate servings. For example, some less active women may need only 2,000 calories to maintain a healthy weight. At that calorie level, 8 servings of breads would be about right.

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'Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings.

'Meat group amounts are in total ounces. (See pages 22 and 23 for

details on how to count amounts of meat and other foods in this group.)

'See the Pyramid Food Choices Chart for details on how to count total fat

(pages 25 to 27).

"See chart on page 16 for details on how to count teaspoons of added sugars.

What is a
Serving?

The amount of food

that counts as a serving is listed on the next page. If you eat a larger portion, count it as more than one serving. For example, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta counts as one serving in the bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group. If you eat 1 cup of pasta, that would be two servings. If you eat a smaller portion, count it as part of a serving.

Isn't 6 to 11 servings of breads and cereals a lot? It may sound like a lot, but it's really not. For example, a slice of bread is one serving, so a sandwich for lunch would equal two servings. A small bowl of cereal and one slice of toast for breakfast are two more servings. And, if you have a cup of rice or pasta at dinner, that's two more servings. A snack of 3 or 4 small plain crackers adds yet another serving. So now you've had 7 servings. It adds up quicker than you think!

Bread Group

Do I need to
measure servings?

No. Use servings only as a general guide. For mixed foods, do the best you can to estimate the food group servings of the main ingredients. For example, a generous serving of pizza would count in the bread group (crust), the milk group (cheese), and the vegetable group (tomato); a helping of beef stew would count in the meat group and the vegetable group. Both have some fat

fat in the cheese on the pizza and in the gravy from the stew, if it's made from meat drippings.

What if I want
to lose or gain
weight?

The best and simplest
way to lose weight is to
increase your physical
activity and reduce the fat
and sugars
in
your diet.

Vegetable Group

Milk Group

But be sure to eat at least the lowest number of serv

ings from the five major food groups in the Food Guide Pyramid. You need them for the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein they provide. Just try to pick the lowest fat choices from the food groups.

To gain weight, increase the amounts of foods you eat from all of the food groups. If you have lost weight unexpectedly, see your doctor.

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Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts

2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish

1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as

1 ounce of lean meat

Fats

How much fat can I have?

It depends on your calorie needs. The Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans limit fat in their diets to 30 percent of calories. This amounts to 53 grams of fat in a 1,600calorie diet, 73 grams of fat in a 2,200-calorie diet, and 93 grams of fat in a 2,800-calorie diet. You will get up to half this fat even if you pick the lowest fat choices from each food group and add no fat to your foods in preparation or at the table.

You decide how to use the additional fat in your daily diet. You may want to have foods from the five major food groups that are higher in

You can figure the number of grams of fat that provide 30% of calories in your daily diet as follows:

A. Multiply your total day's calories by 0.30 to

get your calories from fat per

fat-such as whole milk instead of skim milk. Or you may want to use it in cooking or at the table in the form of spreads, dressings, or toppings.

How to check your diet for fat

If you want to be sure you have a lowfat diet,

you can count the grams of fat in your day's food choices using the Pyramid Food Choices Chart on 25 to 27, and com

pages pare them to the number of grams of fat suggested for your calorie level.

You don't need to count fat grams every day, but doing a fat checkup once in awhile will help keep you on the right track. If you find you are eating too much fat, choose lower fat foods more often.

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LIMIT

OF

day. Example: 2,200 calories x 0.30

=660 calories from fat.

ORIES

CALORI

B. Divide calories from fat per day by 9 (each gram of fat has 9 calories) to get grams of fat per day.

Example: 660 calories from fat÷ 9 = 73 grams of fat

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