Weight Management Resources

Weight Loss Article Index

Weight Management Products

Energize Yourself and Your Family

• Did You Know?
• Why Move More and Eat Better?
• Tips on Moving More
• Tips on Eating Better
• Reading Food Labels
• Making Healthy Meals That Taste Good!
• Eating on the Go
• Serving Sizes
• You Can Do It!

• Type 2 diabetes (high blood sugar)
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Breast or colon cancer.
  
  

You can improve your health if you Move More and Eat Better!

• Have more energy
• Fit into hip clothes
• Tone your body
• Reduce stress
• Feel better about yourself
• Set a good example for your children and your friends.

• Get off the bus or subway one stop early and walk the rest of the way.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Take 2 or 3 short walking breaks at work each day.
• Walk around the house while you talk on a cordless phone.
• Walk and talk with a friend at lunch.

• Find a local school track where you can walk or run
• Walk around a mall before the stores open
• Go for a brisk walk in a local park
• Join your local recreation center or fitness center at work or near your home

TIP: If you are over 50 or have chronic health problems, talk to your health care provider before starting a vigorous activity program.

• Start the day with breakfast.
• Buy foods that are easy to prepare, like pasta, tuna, or rice and beans.
• Plan ahead and cook enough to last. Casseroles, meat loaf, and whole cooked chicken can feed your family for several days. Leftovers save time and money! (Be sure to freeze or refrigerate leftovers right away to keep them safe to eat.)
• Cook the night before (and refrigerate right away).
• Teach kids that healthy foods taste good. Make macaroni and cheese with nonfat milk and low-fat cheese. Try a peanut butter sandwich instead of a burger and fries. Offer kids more fruits and vegetables.
• Try kidney or butter beans. Beans are loaded with protein and cost less than meat.
• Buy frozen or canned vegetables (no salt added) and canned fruit packed in juice. They are just as good for you as fresh produce but won’t go bad.
• Choose nonfat or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
• Choose whole-grain foods more often.
• Don’t let soda, fruit-flavored drinks, or other sweets crowd out healthy foods.
• Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water (the size of a household measuring cup) every day.
• If your local store doesn’t have the foods you want, go to another store that has more choices. Start a weekly shopping carpool or share the cost of a taxi with friends.

  Tip: If you can’t digest lactose, the sugar found in milk and foods made with milk, try products made for people with lactose intolerance. Or try yogurt, which may be easier to digest than milk. You can also get the calcium your body needs by eating dark leafy vegetables like collard greens and kale, calcium-fortified juice and bread, and canned fish with soft bones (like salmon).

Food labels help you make smart choices. But they can be confusing. Here are some quick tips:*

Serving Size: All the information on a food label is based on the serving size. Be careful—one serving may be much smaller than you think! Compare what you eat to the serving size on the label.

Calories: Most women need to eat about 1,600 calories per day, with no more than 30 percent (about 480 calories) from total fat.**

% Daily Value: This tells you whether a food is high or low in nutrients. Foods that have more than 20 percent daily value of a nutrient are high. Foods that have 5 percent or less are low.

Saturated Fat: Saturated fat is the least healthy kind of fat. Compare labels on similar foods and try to choose foods with a lower % Daily Value of saturated fat.**

Sodium: Salt contains sodium. High sodium intake is linked to higher blood pressure. Look for labels that say “low-sodium.”

TIP: Many food labels say “low-fat,” “reduced fat,” or “light.” That doesn’t always mean the food is low in calories. Remember, calories do count!

• 1/2 cup all-bran cereal (about 8 grams of fiber)
• 1/2 cup cooked beans (about 6 grams)
• 1 cup corn (about 4 grams)
• 1 medium apple (about 3 grams).

Sugar: Try to choose foods with little or no added sugar (like low-sugar cereals).

* For more information on reading nutrition labels, see Using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, available from the Federal Consumer Information Center, 1-888-878-3256.

** From Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you need a special diet, check with your health care provider before following these guidelines.

*** American Dietetic Association

• Baked, roasted, broiled, grilled, or oven-fried chicken, flounder, or bluefish made with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, or vinegar
• Collard greens or kale made with onions, garlic, chicken broth or bouillon, smoked turkey, turkey bacon, or turkey ham (use broth and cured meats in small amounts—they are high in sodium)
• Baked potatoes topped with salsa or low-fat sour cream

• Choose a salad or a grilled chicken sandwich (not fried) instead of a burger at fast-food restaurants.
• If you really want that burger, make it a small one without sauce, and pass up or split an order of fries with a friend.
• Skip thick, creamy sauces.
• Take ready-made, low-fat snacks with you to work. Try graham crackers or pretzels. Or, make your own snack bag with baby carrots (as many as you want), raisins, or nuts (no more than a small handful, since nuts and raisins are high in calories).
• Balance your meals throughout the day. If you have a high-fat or high-calorie breakfast or lunch, make sure you eat a low-fat dinner.

This illustration shows proper serving sizes of a pork chop, potatoes, green beans, and bread.

Many people think that bigger is better. We’re so used to super-size servings that it’s easy to eat more than our bodies need. Eating smaller portions will help you cut down on calories and fat (and save money!). Here is a 1,600 calorie/day sample menu with sensible servings:*

Breakfast
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 English muffin with
1 tablespoon low-fat
cream cheese
1 cup low-fat milk
3/4 cup orange juice

Lunch
2 ounces baked chicken without skin (a little smaller than a deck of cards)
Lettuce, tomato, and cucumber salad with 2 teaspoons oil and vinegar dressing
1/2 cup white rice seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon margarine
1 small biscuit with 1 teaspoon margarine

Dinner
3 ounces lean roast beef (about the size of a deck of cards) with 1 tablespoon beef gravy
1/2 cup turnip greens seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon margarine
1 small baked sweet potato with 1/2 teaspoon margarine
1 slice cornbread
1/4 honeydew melon

Snack
21/2 cups plain popcorn
11/2 teaspoons margarine

TIP: Use margarine instead of butter. Choose soft margarines that have no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon and that list liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient.
American Heart Association

French fries: 1 small serving (equal to a child’s order)
Shrimp fried rice: 1 cup
Cheese pizza: 2 medium slices (if it’s the only high-fat food you eat that day) or 1 large slice

Set goals. Move at your own pace. Reward your successes. Allow for setbacks. Let your family and friends help you. And keep trying—you can do it!

1 Win Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3665
Phone: (202) 828-1025
FAX: (202) 828-1028
Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Toll-free number: 1-877-946-4627

The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) is a national service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, which is the Federal Government’s lead agency responsible for biomedical research on nutrition and obesity. Authorized by Congress (Public Law 103-43), WIN provides the general public, health professionals, the media, and Congress with up-to-date, science-based health information on weight control, obesity, physical activity, and related nutritional disorders.

Weight Loss Article Index

Weight Management Products