Alabama Cooperative Extension System • HE-756
Read The Food Label
Stop the Pounds
How Should I Eat To Lose Weight?
Your weight depends on how many calories you eat
and how many calories your body uses. If you eat more
calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. There
are two ways to lose weight:
1
How Many Calories Should I Eat?
Try to eat only the calories you need in a day.
Look at the list to see how many calories you need.
If you are...
▼
Cut back on how
much food you eat.
a man
▼▼▼
▼ ▼
▼
▼
not very active
a woman
2
who is...
Be more active to use more calories.
active
eat about this
many calories
a day:
1600 - 1800
1800 - 2200
very active
2200 - 2600
not very active
1800 - 2200
active
2300 - 3000
very active
3000 - 3800
The best way to lose weight is
to eat less calories and be more
active at the same time.
How Can I Be More Active?
These are ways to be more active and help your body use
more calories. Look at the list to find things you like to do.
walking
exercise class
cleaning house
swimming
riding a bike
tennis
mowing the grass
gardening
dancing
jogging
painting a room
rowing a boat
To help your body use more calories, try to
do an activity on the list for 30 minutes every
day. Being active will help you lose weight.
How Can I Cut Back On Calories?
The fastest way to cut back on calories is to eat less fat.
Fat has a lot of calories. Most of the time if you eat less fat,
you eat less calories, too.
1 level tablespoon of fat = 100 calories
Walk 1 mile = 100 calories
Small Ways To Be More Active
☞
☞
☞
☞
Park the car at the end of the parking lot.
Take the stairs.
Walk to the mailbox.
Pull weeds in the yard.
Another way to cut back on calories is to read the Nutrition Facts food label.
Nutrition Facts tells you how many calories are in one serving of a food.
Use labels to find foods you like that have less calories.
Look for
food packages
that say,
Low Fat,
Light, or
Fat Free.
This means
these foods
have less fat
and calories
than other
foods.
Original
Juicy Dogs
Light
Juicy Dogs
Fat Free
Juicy Dogs
Find small ways to eat less calories and fat. Eat Meal #2 in place of Meal #1. See how many calories you save.
Save 165 calories
by baking in place
of frying.
Meal # 1
4 ounces fried chicken
1 cup potato salad
1⁄ 2 cup cream corn
Save 200 calories
by cutting out the
1 biscuit
mayonnaise.
1 tablespoon margarine
1 slice pecan pie
Save 60 calories
1 cup whole milk
by choosing milk
Total calories:
1795
with less fat.
Meal # 2
4 ounces baked chicken
10 french fried potatoes
1⁄ 2 cup whole corn
1 soft dinner roll
1 tablespoon margarine
1 slice apple pie
1 cup skim milk
Total calories:
1110
Save 20
calories with
plain corn.
Even the soft
roll saves 70
calories.
Choosing the
fruit pie saves
170 calories.
Save 685 calories
(all from fat)
by making
small chan
ges!
Barbara Struempler, Extension Nutritionist, Professor, Nutrition and Food Science,
Auburn University, and Autumn Marshall, former Nutrition Marketing Educator
For more information, call your county Extension office. Look in your telephone
directory under your county’s name to find the number.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and
June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama
Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs,
materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.
9M, Reprinted July 2006, HE-756
HE-756
© 2006 by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. All rights reserved.
www.aces.edu