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Health Info & Classes | Wellness Tips | Tips to Stay Healthy | Eat a Healthy Diet
Eat a Healthy Diet
 To lose weight and keep it off over time, try to make long-term changes in your eating habits. Choose healthy foods and healthier methods of preparation. The American Heart Association Eating Plan for Healthy Americans recommends:
- Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.
- Choose whole-grain cereal, brown rice and whole-wheat bread over their more refined counterparts.
- Choose fat-free and low-fat milk products.
- Choose chicken, fish or beans instead of red meat.
- Choose dishes made with olive or canola oil, which are high in healthy fats.
- Limit your intake of fast foods and store-bought snacks (such as cookies and chips), which are high in sugars and bad fats.
- Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol, such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, tropical oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolks.
- Eat less than 6 grams (2,400 milligrams) of salt (sodium) per day.
- Have no more than one alcoholic drink per day if you're a woman and no more than two if you're a man. One drink is equal to 12 oz. of beer, 4 oz. of wine, 1.5 oz. of 80-proof spirits or 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits. You’ll also need to monitor the amount you eat.
The United States Department of Agriculture has scrapped the old, multi-level food pyramid in favor of the new, individualized MyPyramid, which can help you choose the right amount of foods based on gender, age and activity level. Go to MyPyramid.gov to generate your own personal pyramid plan and find your balance between food and physical activity.
You may want to consult with a registered dietician, especially if you have a chronic condition such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems or high blood pressure. For a consultation with an Evergreen registered dietician, please call 425.899.3008. A referral from your physician is recommended for insurance purposes.
Healthy ChoicesEating healthy involves making healthy choices. Here are a few simple suggestions to improve your eating habits.
- Use fat-free or 1% milk instead of whole or 2%.
- Drink water or diet soda instead of regular carbonated or sweetened beverages.
- Eat fruit instead of sugary desserts.
- Use whole-grain options for bread, pasta, and rice.
- Replace butter or hard margarines with oils low in saturated and high in monounsaturated fats.
- Snack on fruits and vegetables instead of highly processed, high-fat, high-calorie “junk” food.
- Grill or roast food instead of frying.
- Eat a healthy breakfast every day
How do your meals stack up? Take the Geat American Eat Right Challenge and find out!
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