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Balancing My Nutrition and Physical Activity

Diet Guidelines

It is important to remember...

1. Consume all 5 major food groups daily

2. Pay attention to ingredients

3. Watch portion sizes

4. Drinks are just as important

5. Physical activity balances the body

5 Major Food Groups

Fruits

Vegetables

Proteins

Grains

Dairy

3 servings of vegetables daily

3 servings of fruit daily

Fruits and Veggies

Apples

Oranges

Pomegranate

Mango

Avocado

Watermelon

Berries

Broccoli

Carrots

Spinach

Kale

Onion

Artichoke

Brussels Sprouts

Protein

Dairy

Milk

Cheese

Cottage Cheese

Yogurt

Red meat

Poultry

Fish

Dried beans

Eggs

Nuts & Seeds

Choosing dairy: look for low-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt

Snacks

3 servings of dairy daily

Breakfast - most important meal due to your body needing to replenish the energy supply from sleep

2-3 protein servings daily

Calorie - measure of energy released by food as it is digested by the body

Differences in Fats

Grains

2 Main Types: Saturated and Unsaturated

Unsaturated: "The good guys" - natural fats that can be included as part of a healthy diet and used instead of saturated fats.

• Examples of polyunsaturated - vegetable oil, fish, seeds
• Examples of monounsaturated - olive oil, peanut butter, nuts

Saturated: "The bad guys" - artificial and unhealthy - should be avoided or replaced with unsaturated

Bread

Pasta

Oatmeal

Grits

Rice

When choosing snacks, look for nutrient dense foods (can be from any food group)

• Saturated fats: in beef, ham or lamb fat becomes solid when left at room temperature as compared to healthier unsaturated vegetable oils that stay liquid.

• Trans fats: not found naturally - chemically processed to make liquid fats more solid like margarine (look for 'partially hydrogenated'). STAY AWAY!

** Both saturated fat and trans fat should be

reduced because they are risk factors for heart disease, obesity and cancers. **

6 servings of grains daily, at least half need to be whole grains

Examples:

• nonfat or low-fat yogurt, milk, or cheese
• celery, carrot sticks, sliced peppers, broccoli or cauliflower, salad
• slices of lean turkey, ham, or roast beef, hard boiled egg, peanut butter, peanuts
• any raw fruits or dried fruits
• air-popped popcorn without butter, graham crackers, bagel, oatmeal, rice cakes, tortillas

Differences in Grains

Whole: used to describe grain foods if the fiber has not been removed in the processing

Enriched: naturally occurring nutrients have been added back to the refined (modified) product.

Fortified: nutrients that are not found in the natural grain products have been added

Ingredients

Physical Activity

Common Myths:

• You have to be an athlete to get exercise
• It has to be strenuous
• It takes too much time
• It is boring

1. Nutrient-dense food: high in vitamins and minerals, low in calories: low fat proteins like chicken, fish, beans, eggs

2. Other than low-fat milk or cheese, when choosing foods go for COLOR to find the nutrient-dense foods: whole grain pasta, bread, and rice, colorful fruits and vegetables

The FACTS:

• Exercise can be done in short 10-15 minute spurts throughout the day
• Exercise is not only sports
• Physically active students do better in academics
• More calories = more exercise

Portion Sizes

Typical American servings are 1.5 to 3 times larger than they should be

Always pay attention to serving sizes on the nutrition label - ONLY EAT 1 SERVING!

Comparing food sizes:

1 serving bread (grain) = CD case

1 serving meat (protein) = deck of cards

1 serving fruit/veggie = tennis ball