Eating well with the Food Guide Pyramid

Staying fit, by Anya Petersen-Frey

Eating is a necessity but choosing what to eat is a lifestyle decision. Eating healthy does not mean a confining diet or unreasonable short-term food plan. It is about feeling better, being healthier and gaining energy. Where do you start? It doesn't have to be complicated, and the USDA Food Guide Pyramid is a good place to begin.

The Food Guide Pyramid is a fairly simple way to ensure that you are getting a varied diet that will supply most of the nutrients you need. The pyramid includes six food groups: grains, fruit, vegetable, meats and beans, milk, and fats/oils/sweets. Each group offers a suggested range of servings: 6-11 for grains which include bread, cereal, rice and pasta; 2-4 for the fruit group; 3-5 for the vegetable group; 2-3 for the meat group which incorporates meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; another 2-3 servings for the milk, yogurt and cheese group and finally just a sparing amount -- no particular serving size -- the fat/oil/sweet group. The amount you need depends on your personal calorie and nutrient needs. As you become more physically active you may need to increase intake, and if you are less active, you may need to lower the number of servings.

The Food Guide Pyramid -- A Guide to Daily Food Choices

Speaking of servings, what is a serving? A large part of our country's obesity epidemic comes not just from making poor food choices but eating huge portions of food _ whether healthy or junk. Here are a few sample sizes based on the pyramid food groups:

Grains group

1 slice of bread

1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal

1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta

Milk group

1 cup of milk or yogurt

1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese like Cheddar

2 ounces of processed cheese like American

Vegetable group

1 cup of raw leafy vegetables

1/2 cup veggies cooked or raw

3/4 cup vegetable juice

Meat and beans group

One ounce cooked lean meat, poultry or fish

1/2 cup cooked, dry beans such as lentils

1/2 cup tofu or 2 1/2 ounce soy burger

1 egg

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1/3 cup nuts

Fruit group

1 medium apple, banana, pear or orange

1/2 cup chopped, cooked or canned fruit

3/4 cup juice

It is easy to see how quickly you can eat the recommended servings. For many of us _ cup of pasta is merely an appetizer. Imagine a sample meal plan using the Pyramid as a guide:

Breakfast: 1 cup cereal, 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup yogurt = 1 grain, 1.5 milk

Snack: 1 apple and a piece of cheese = 1 fruit, 1 milk

Lunch: Lentil soup with veggies, 1/2 peanut butter sandwich, 1/2 cup dried fruit = 1.5 meat, 1/2 grain, 1 vegetable, 1 fruit

Snack: Other 1/2 peanut butter sandwich = .5 meat, 1/2 grain

Before Dinner Snack: Handful of small carrots = 1 vegetable

Dinner: 2 cups pasta, tomato sauce with veggies, 1 whole wheat roll, butter, 1/2 cup frozen yogurt = 5 grain, 1 vegetable, 1 milk, some fat

Total by pyramid standards: seven servings from the grain group, two servings from the fruit group, three servings from the vegetable group, three-and-a-half servings from the milk group, two servings from the meat group and just a sparing amount of additional fats.

This sample may not be the perfect food mix for everyone and calories have not been calculated. The above menu just offers a sample of how the pyramid can be used as a guide in planning a healthier diet and choosing foods from a variety of categories. It also provides a look at portion sizes. Eating healthy does not have to be time-consuming or include unusual and expensive food items.

In addition to making healthy food choices a key component of a healthy lifestyle is to eat when you are hungry. Too often we eat because of boredom or stress. Rule of thumb -- as an anonymous author once said, "Being hungry is like being in love, if you're not sure, you're probably not." In other words, learn to listen to your body. Are you really hungry or are you just looking for something to do? If you're not sure, find some other activity to entertain you for about 20 minutes -- if you still want food after that, have a small snack.

We are creatures of habit and changing a habit is difficult. But a lifestyle can be forever. Take your time, make small changes each day and one day you will realize that you have adopted healthy eating as part of life.

Anya Petersen-Frey is a local fitness instructor.