Pyramid your way to a Healthy Diet

Using the Food Pyramid

Hello everybody as I write this UFC  130 is under way , but I figured  I would take the time to talk about Nutrition , specifically using the mypyramid.gov website to track your nutrition.

Eat fewer carbs when you’re trying to lose fat and more when you’re having problems gaining muscle. Manipulating that one variable alters two important body-changing mechanisms:

1. The total calories you consume
2. The effect of insulin on where those calories end up

The biggest problem with a calorie-cutting diet is that it can throw off your hormonal balance within a week or two. One thing that gets thrown off balance is leptin, an appetite-regulating hormone. As you slip into a caloric deficit—burning more calories than you take in—your body produces less leptin, with the goal of increasing your appetite until you get back into balance. But it’s easy enough to keep this mechanism in check. Just add fruit back into every meal once every 7 days.

According to the website

What is a "Healthy Diet"

The Dietary Guidelines describe it as...

1. Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
2. Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
3. Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Tips

•  Maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight. People who are most successful at achieving and maintaining a healthy weight do so through continued attention to consuming only enough calories from foods and beverages to meet their needs and by being physically active.
•  Focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages. Americans currently consume too much sodium and too many calories from solid fats, added sugars, and reined grains. These replace nutrient-dense foods and beverages and make it difficult for people to achieve recommended nutrient intake while controlling calorie and sodium intake

My favorite function of the website is the ability to get a personal food plan to get a good  basic guideline of what one should be consuming. Using me at 160lbs being physically active 30-60min per day I require about 2800 calories.  For you to get your personalized plan just go on the website and click on the right hand column "Get a Personalized Plan" and enter your stats.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html

Have a Fun Memorial Day Weekend :)