COACH ON CALL
Nutrition: My Daily Food Needs
“It was great to talk with you.
Thank you for your interest in ‘My Daily Food Needs.’
I hope you find this tip sheet helpful.
Please give me a call if you have more questions about this or other topics.
As your health coach, I’m ready to help in any way I can.”
What should I eat?
Limit empty calories.
Focus on vegetables, fruits, grains, protein foods and
dairy foods.
“Empty calories” are calories from solid fats, added
sugars or alcohol that provide calories but few or no
nutrients. Calories measure the energy in food.
One of the simplest guides to healthy eating is called
MyPlate. It uses the image of a place setting to show
the five food groups that are the building blocks for a
healthy diet. The place setting guides your choices for
each meal.
Use small amounts of oils.
Oils are not a MyPlate food
group. But they are needed in
small amounts for health. Oils
are fats that are liquid at room
temperature. Examples are
canola, corn, cottonseed, olive,
peanut, safflower, soybean and
sunflower oils. Some foods are
naturally high in oils, such as
nuts, seeds, olives, some fish
and avocados.
Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, some
salad dressings and tub or liquid margarine with no
trans fats. Trans fat is a fat made from vegetable oils
and is solid at room temperature. Limit trans fat as
much as possible.
•
Solid fats are fats that are solid at room
temperature, for example, butter, beef fat,
shortening and stick margarine. Some solid fats
are found naturally in foods.
They can also be added when
foods are processed by food
companies or when foods
are prepared.
•Added sugars are sugars and
syrups that are added when
foods or beverages are
processed or prepared.
The foods and drinks that
provide the greatest number of
empty calories for Americans are:
cakes, cookies, pastries, donuts,
sodas, energy drinks, sports
drinks, fruit drinks, cheese, pizza, ice cream, sausages,
hot dogs, bacon and ribs. Many of these foods can be
found in forms with less or no solid fat/added sugar.
A small amount of empty calories is okay. But most
people eat far more than is healthy.
One teaspoon oil is 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (e.g.,
canola, corn, olive, soybean); 1½ teaspoons
mayonnaise; 2 teaspoons tub margarine; or
2 teaspoons Italian-type salad dressing.
Continued on next page…
Your privacy and confidentiality are very important. MedStar Health has contracted with a third-party vendor, Evolent Health, to administer the MyHealth Coach on Call
program and services. Your personal health information will be protected and will not be shared with anyone from MedStar who is not involved with your care.
Nutrition: My Daily Food Needs (continued)
2
COACH ON CALL
The chart below describes each MyPlate food group.
Food group
Tip
Examples of foods
What counts as a serving?
Vegetables
Vary your veggies.
Choose among five subgroups each week: dark
green; red and orange;
cooked dried beans, split
peas, and lentils; starchy;
and other vegetables.
Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice; raw or cooked;
fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/
dehydrated; whole, cut-up, or
mashed
One cup is 1 cup raw or cooked
vegetables; 1 cup 100%
vegetable juice; or 2 cups leafy
salad greens.
Fruits
Focus on fruits. Eat a
variety of fruit. Choose
whole or cut-up fruits
more often than fruit
juice.
Any fruit or 100% fruit juice;
fresh, canned, frozen, or dried;
whole, cut-up, or pureed
One cup is 1 cup raw or cooked
fruit; 1 cup 100% fruit juice; or ½
cup dried fruit.
Grains
Make at least half your
grains whole. Whole
grains include the nutrient-rich bran and germ.
Make sure a whole grain
is the first item in the
ingredient list.
Any food made from wheat,
rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or
another cereal grain, such as
bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast
cereals, tortillas, and grits
One ounce is 1 slice of bread
(1 ounce); ½ cup cooked pasta,
rice, or cereal; 1 ounce uncooked pasta or rice; 1 tortilla
(6-inch diameter); 1 pancake
(5-inch diameter); or 1 ounce
ready-to-eat cereal (about 1 cup
cereal flakes).
Dairy
Get your calcium-rich
foods. Drink fat-free or
1% milk. Choose fat-free
or low-fat yogurt and
cheese. Or try calciumfortified soy products.
All fluid milk products; yogurt;
cheese; calcium-fortified soy
milk; NOT included in this
group—cream cheese, cream or
butter
One cup is 1 cup milk; 1 cup
fortified soymilk (soy beverage);
1 cup yogurt; 1½ ounces natural cheese (e.g., cheddar); or 2
ounces processed cheese (e.g.,
American).
Protein Foods
Go lean with protein.
Twice a week, make seafood the protein on your
plate. Vary your protein
routine—choose cooked
dried beans, split peas,
lentils, nuts, and seeds
more often. Keep meat
and poultry portions small
and lean.
All foods made from cooked
dried beans, split peas and
lentils; eggs; processed soy
products; nuts; seeds; seafood;
poultry; meat
One ounce equivalent is 1 ounce
lean meat, poultry, seafood; 1
egg; 1 tablespoon peanut butter;
½ ounce nuts or seeds; or ¼ cup
cooked dried beans, split peas,
or lentils.
Continued on next page…
COACH ON CALL
Nutrition: My Daily Food Needs (continued)
How much should I eat?
3
The amount you should eat depends on your age,
gender, weight, height and how active you are. To learn
how much to eat, use one of the two methods below.
•
Use the Daily Food Plans tool on the MyPlate
website.
■■
■■
■■
■■
Visit the MyPlate website at http://www.
choosemyplate.gov. Click on the SuperTracker
and Other Tools tab at the top of the page.
Select Daily Food Plans.
Enter your age, sex, weight and height. Also
choose the amount of physical activity you do.
Click on the Submit button. You will be given a
Daily Food Plan, based on the average needs
of someone like you. The plan includes your
daily calorie needs and targets for each of the
five food groups, oils and empty calories. You
can print out your plan. You can also print a
worksheet for tracking what you eat and drink.
Would you like a more detailed assessment of
your diet and physical activity? Click on the
link for SuperTracker.
Talk with your health coach if you have questions
about the Daily Food Plans tool.
•
2. Find your estimated daily calorie needs. Look at the
chart below. Find your age and gender in the left
column. Your calorie needs are in the same row.
Use the lower number if you are inactive. Use the
higher number if you are active. Use a number between the two if you’re somewhere in the middle.
Or estimate your food needs. If you don’t have
access to the MyPlate website, use these steps:
I need about ______________ calories to stay at
my current weight.
Important:
•
Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate.
•
This calorie level is for staying at your current
weight. To lose weight, you will need fewer
calories. To gain weight, you will need more.
•
If you become much more active, your calorie
needs will go up. If you become much less active,
your calorie needs will go down.
Estimated Daily Calorie Needs
Age/Sex
InactiveActive
Children
2-3 Years
1. First, decide how active you are. Check one:
Females
❑❑ I am inactive. On most days, I do only the light
4-8 years
9-13
14-18
19-30
31-50
51+
activities of daily life. These include getting
dressed, driving, sitting, cooking, eating and
reading.
❑❑ I am active. On most days, I walk briskly for 45-60
minutes or more. (Briskly means you cover one mile
in 15-20 minutes.) Or I do another activity that’s
like brisk walking for 45-60 minutes. Examples
include riding a bike, general gardening and
water aerobics.
❑❑ I am somewhere in the middle.
Calorie Range Per Day
1,000
1,400
1,200
1,600
1,800
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,800
2,200
2,400
2,400
2,200
2,200
1,400
1,800
2,200
2,400
2,200
2,000
2,000
2,600
3,200
3,000
3,000
2,800
Males
4-8 years
9-13
14-18
19-30
31-50
51+
Continued on next page…
Nutrition: My Daily Food Needs (continued)
4
COACH ON CALL
•
Find your targets for each food group, oils and empty calories.
Look at the chart below. Find your calorie needs in the top row. Circle or highlight that number and the
numbers below it. Aim to eat those amounts from the MyPlate food groups and oils. Aim to limit your empty
calories to the amount given or less.
Daily Food Needs
Estimated
daily calorie needs
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
2,200
2,400
2,600
2,800
3,000
3,200
Grains
3 oz.
4 oz.
5 oz.
5 oz.
6 oz.
6 oz.
7 oz.
8 oz.
9 oz.
10 oz.
10 oz.
10 oz.
Vegetables 1 cup
1.5
cups
1.5
cups
2 cups 2.5
cups
2.5
cups
3 cups 3 cups 3.5
cups
3.5
cups
4 cups 4 cups
Fruits
1 cup
1 cup
1.5
cups
1.5
cups
2 cups 2 cups 2 cups 2 cups 2 cups 2.5
cups
Dairy
2 cups 2 cups 2 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups 3 cups
Protein
Foods
2 oz.
3 oz.
4 oz.
5 oz.
5 oz.
5.5 oz. 6 oz.
6.5 oz. 6.5 oz. 7 oz.
7 oz.
7 oz.
Oils
3 tsp.
4 tsp.
4 tsp.
5 tsp.
5 tsp.
6 tsp.
6 tsp.
7 tsp.
8 tsp.
8 tsp.
10
tsp.
11
tsp.
Empty
calories
limit
165
171
171
132
195
267
290
362
410
426
512
648
1.5
cups
Track how closely you follow MyPlate
Tracking what you eat will help you become aware of
your eating habits now. It will also show you where you
can make changes to more closely follow MyPlate. For
a tracker, you can use:
•
My Daily Food Plan Worksheet. This is found on
the MyPlate website. To create the worksheet, first
create your food plan using the Daily Food Plans
2.5
cups
tool. See page 3 for instructions. Next, on the page
that shows your Daily Food Plan, click on the link to
the right that says: “Click here to view and print a
PDF of a helpful Meal Planning Worksheet.”
•
The attached MyPlate Tracker. Fill in the blanks in
the column labeled “Target” based on your food
needs. Then list the foods you eat and the amounts
in the appropriate food groups. Estimate your total
for the day for each row, and compare with your
targets.
Continued on next page…
Nutrition: My Daily Food Needs (continued)
5
MyPlate Tracker
COACH ON CALL
Make copies of this page to use. Keep one copy blank for making more copies in the future.
Name _________________________________________________________ Date ________________________________
Food group
and other
Target
List the foods you eat
and the amounts
Fruits
_____ cups
_____ cups
Vegetables
______ cups
_____ cups
Grains
_____ ounces
_____ ounces
(at least _____ ounces
whole grains)
(______ ounces whole
grains)
Dairy
____ cups
____ cups
Protein Foods
_______ ounce equivalents
_______ ounce equivalents
Oils
_______ teaspoons
_______ teaspoons
Empty Calories _______ calories or less
Estimate your total
for the day
_______ calories or less
Take Action
Name two small changes you would like to make now to more closely follow MyPlate. Examples: I
will eat a piece of fresh fruit with my lunch on weekdays. I will have 1% milk instead of 2% milk on
my breakfast cereal.
Copyright 2012 UPMC Health Plan, Inc. All rights reserved.