Healthy eating is a critical part of any total health plan, and can improve the effectiveness of physical activity. When you combine a well-balanced diet with moderate exercise, you feel better and keep off unwanted pounds.

Dietary Guidelines
In 2005, the US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services issued updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The new guidelines put increased emphasis on trimming portion sizes; consuming fewer calories; and eating more whole grains, vegetables, and fruits; along with exercising 30 to 90 minutes a day. The guidelines suggest the following daily quantities of food for a 2,000 calorie a day diet:

• 6 ounces of grains, including whole grain bread and cereal, rice, and pasta
• 2 cups of vegetables, particularly dark, leafy greens and orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes
• 2 cups of fruit - fresh, frozen, canned, or dried (easy on the fruit juices)
• 3 cups of lowfat or fat-free milk, yogurt or other milk products
• 5 ounces of meat and beans, including beans, peas, fish, and lean meats and poultry

Note that the specific amounts for an individual depend on your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level. To get an estimate of the amount of each food group you need daily, go to www.mypyramid.gov and select "mypyramidplan." Some healthy eating suggestions based on the new dietary guidelines:

• Make half your grains whole. Substitute whole-grain products for refined products, such as whole-wheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice. Remember, don’t add, substitute.
• Buy fresh vegetables in season; they’re likely to be cheaper and be at their peak flavor. Select vegetables with more potassium, such as sweet potatoes, white beans, tomato products, beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, winter squash, spinach, lentils, kidney beans, and split peas. Buy precut veggies (or precut them yourself) so they’re always available in the refrigerator (e.g., baby carrots).
• Keep fruit at hand. Keep a bowl of washed, whole fruit in the kitchen, ready to eat. Buy fresh fruit in season. Dried fruit is a good alternative for out-of-season or hard to find fruit.
• Don’t forget about calcium. Include low-fat or fat-free milk as a beverage at meals. If you drink cappuccinos or lattes, ask for them with fat-free (skim) milk. Substitute low-fat or fat free yogurt for cream and sour cream in soups and sauces.
• Go lean on protein. Trim away all visible fat from meats and poultry before cooking. Broil, grill, roast, poach, or boil meat, poultry, or fish instead of frying. Drain off any fat that appears during cooking. Skip or limit the breading on meat, poultry, or fish. Prepare dried beans and peas without added fats.
• Choose wisely - food and drinks that are low in saturated fats, transfats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
• Read nutritional labels, and make healthy choices based on those labels.