A Simple Map to the Land of Wholesome

For the first time since it began issuing dietary guidelines, the government offered new recommendations last month that clearly favor the health and well-being of consumers over hard-lobbying farm interests. 

The new science-based Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released Jan. 31 by the Departments of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services, are comprehensive, sensible, attainable and, for most people, affordable. They offer a wide variety of dietary options to help you eat better for fewer calories without undue sacrifice of dining pleasure.

Now it’s up to consumers to act on this advice and put the brakes on runaway obesity and the chronic diseases that cost billions of dollars before they kill.

It’s a lot easier than you may think, especially if you make the adaptations gradually and avoid declaring war on every deviation from the straight and narrow. Moderation, rather than constant deprivation and denial, is the key to a wholesome diet that you can stick with and enjoy. I say this with confidence because I’ve lived this way for most of my adult life and I’ve watched my sons do the same for more than four decades.

Here is a summary of the guidelines, which combine the goals of fewer calories — and especially nutrient-poor calories from sugars, fats and refined grains — with more emphasis on nutrient-dense foods:

•

Eat lots more vegetables and fruits, filling half your plate with them.

•

Choose lean meats and poultry, and replace some of them with seafood.

•

Consume mainly nonfat or low-fat milk and other dairy products.

•

Choose low-sodium products and use less salt and salty ingredients in food preparation.

•

Eat more fiber-rich foods; replace most refined grains and grain-based foods with whole-grain versions.

•

Use vegetable oils like olive and canola oil instead of solid fats like butter and margarine, but remember that all fats have lots of calories.

•

Eat out less; cook at home more often.

•

Drink water, calorie-free beverages like coffee and tea, and 100 percent fruit juice instead of regular sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks; limit alcoholic drinks to one a day for women, two for men.

•

Eat less and exercise more to achieve a better balance of caloric intake and output.

Tips From the Trenches

Here are some ideas to help you put the new guidelines into practice.

Before you make any changes in your eating habits, keep a detailed food diary for a week. Write down everything you eat and drink, listing the amounts, the circumstances, your emotional state and anything else that may be relevant. That will give you a clearer picture of what you may need to modify and how to do it.

Make less seem like more by eating on smaller plates. Pay attention to what you’re eating and eat slowly. Avoid distracted eating, while watching television for example. Eat only until you are satisfied, not full. But don’t think you are eating less if you take only a small portion at first, then repeatedly go back for more. You’ll have no idea how much you really consume.

Eat more beans and peas, nuts and seeds for protein. Bake, broil or grill meats, poultry and fish. Discard skin and avoid breading. If I had to choose only one pan, it would be a stove-top grill pan with a nonstick surface. If I were allowed two, the other would be a nonstick wok-type skillet for stir-frying vegetables in a small amount of olive or vegetable oil. And if three, I’d choose a steamer.

When fresh vegetables and fruits are out of season and expensive, switch temporarily to frozen ones (plain, not packaged in sauces or sugary syrup). Make sandwiches on those new whole-wheat or multigrain sandwich thins, only 100 calories each.

Don’t be fooled by advertising. Some products that make health-related claims may be less than wholesome. Read nutrition facts on food packages (you may want to take a magnifying glass to the store). Note serving size, calories per serving, amounts of sugars, saturated and trans fats, and sodium in a serving, as well as health-promoting dietary fiber, protein and potassium. Also check the ingredients; contents are listed in order of amount (highest first). For desserts, rely more on fruits (fresh or dried), perhaps with nonfat or low-fat vanilla yogurt, than on ice cream or baked goods. Or bake your own with whole-grain flour, fruit purée and oil (a personal favorite is below). For another delicious and nutritious treat, press bite-size pitted prunes to form shallow cups and top each with a ball of finely chopped blanched almonds mixed with a little honey.

Snacks can be the undoing of an otherwise healthful diet. Nutritious choices include unsalted nuts, in moderation, and cut-up vegetables with a yogurt-based dip or hummus. Satisfy a sweet craving with fresh fruit, unsweetened dried fruit or a small bowl of a lightly sweetened whole-grain dry cereal.

When dining out, consider choosing two appetizers instead of a main course, or share an entree with a dining partner. If restaurant portions are over the top, take half home.

Adjust your caloric intake to your needs. According to the report, the average sedentary man in his 40s needs 2,200 calories a day; one who is active needs 2,800. Comparable numbers for women are 1,800 and 2,200.

If you are sedentary, start with 10-minute bouts of activity a couple of days a week and gradually build up to longer bouts more often and at a faster pace. (For an activity guide, go to www.presidentschallenge.org, click on “download tools and resources,” then on “fitness guides.” Or track your progress at www.health.gov/paguidelines, click on “be active your way,” then “keeping track of what you do each week.”)

The best way to know whether you are consuming too many calories is to monitor your weight — if it’s creeping upward, you need to eat less or move more, preferably both. I weigh myself every day to keep within a range of two pounds up or down — a strategy favored by the “successful losers” in the National Weight Control Registry, a long-term study of how people stay trim.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 16, 2011
The Personal Health column on Tuesday, about maintaining a healthy diet, gave an incorrect Web address for the President’s Challenge Program, which offers physical fitness guides and other materials. The correct address is www.presidentschallenge.org.