The More Things Change the More Confusing it Gets

The new USDA Dietary Guidelines are meant to provide sensible eating ideas, but they still confuse more people than not. Serving size is the biggest problem because the tendency is to think a serving is how much I intend to have. Therefore, for me, one serving of cereal is about two cups, while the serving on the box might say 3/4 cup.

It's not a problem because I'm not having all the other junk they suggest like a piece of fruit (I'll have that a bit later), so all-in-all I eat as much as I need to be satisfied, but not half a box at a time. A bit of common sense with a dash of sensibility and you've got it made.

The suggested servings of fruits and vegetables seems high to most people, because most people aren't eating any fruit, let alone several pieces a day. I eat an apple almost every day. Remember being told, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Don't know if it's true but apples are a great source of Vitamin C, pectin (helps with appetite) and fiber, and plus, I just love them. If I get hungry late in the evening I'll sometimes just have an apple. At under 100 calories plus all the other goodies, it's a great snack, plus it takes some time to eat so it satisfies whatever was driving me to want to eat anyway.

How Much Fat to Eat?

I'm unsure if they were trying to appeal to everyone at once but the guidelines suggest a range for fat from 20 to 35%. Twenty percent is pretty low and 35% is pretty high so they've pretty much taken the easy way out on that recommendation. That's a great example of our tax dollars at work. What it means is, "Do whatever you want, we really don't care but we had to pick a number." Thank you U.S. Government.

Their suggestions for reducing saturated fats is good though, and unless you are eating a lot of meat or eating a lot of fast food meals, it's not going to be that difficult to manage:

The 2005 USDA Guidelines suggest:

• Keep saturated fat to 18 grams or less, if you're eating a 1600 calorie diet
• Keep saturated fat to 20 grams or less, if you're eating a 2000 calorie diet
• A day's supply of meat/beans should be kept under 6 ounces. Have you seen a six ounce piece of meat lately? Did you know a quarter-pound burger is four ounces but most of us are going for the half pounder, which is 8? And again, that's just lunch.
• Sodium should be kept to 2300 mg (blacks, middle-aged, older adults and those with hypertension are advised to stay under 1500 mg of sodium a day -- good luck with that).

I make an effort to at least notice the sodium content in packaged foods but more often than not I put it back on the shelf when I see how many calories and how much fat in such a small amount of food. Case in point: I wanted a brownie so I looked in the bakery. They had little pans, which was more than I really wanted because I figured I'd end up eating most of it over the course of a few days and what I really wanted was about a fourth the pan. Then I saw some little dinky brownies in a bag, and I thought, "Oh, now this would be great," until I read the nutrition label. Eight grams of fat apiece! Egads, I could not get away from those brownies fast enough. For eight grams of fat I could have a piece of delicious chocolate or a truffle.

It's not the measly 8 grams of fat though, it's that I know I'll eat five or six of those dinky brownies and then I'm looking at 30 grams of fat or more which is more than two-thirds what I wanted for the entire day.

If you think of your nutritional needs as a bank account, then it doesn't make sense to withdraw such a high amount of currency for such a small amount of return.

Why it's Hard to Stay within the USDA's Food & Dietary Guidelines

It's time for lunch so we decided to go to Carl's Jr. and get that new so called "Six Dollar Burger."

The burger clocks in at 1002 calories, 25 gm of saturated fat and 1690 gm sodium. Uh, oh, I see trouble brewing already; add a medium fries (I NEVER get medium, but just so as not to seem to sway these results I'm using medium) 462 calories, 5 gm saturated fat and 280 sodium.

Do you usually have a soft drink? Then add another 284 calories for that small Coca-Cola Classic, and don't forget the 40 gm of sodium. Now, go get your calculator and you'll see that "heart-attack-waiting to happen" meal comes in at a mind numbing 1748 calories, 30 grams of fat and 2010 grams of sodium!

Congrats! Carl's Jr. just helped you exceed your daily guidelines for calories, fat and sodium in one meal. Can you see why eating at most fast food restaurants makes it difficult to get much value for your nutrition dollar? Can you also see why you are eating far more calories every single day than you realize? What if you decide to have a cookie too? What if you get home and funny thing but you still feel sort of hungry so you also eat chips and ice cream, etc. until finally you fall asleep under a blanket of crumbs. It's no small wonder we are overweight and the only thing that can be done is to become aware.

There are alternatives in fast foods that aren't so calorie costly, but if you're like me, it's easier to simply break the fast food habit and eat out less often, than trying to make substitutions. I'm not a fan of denial eating. If you love a certain fast food meal, that's fine, but think of it as a treat, instead of something you do regularly and you'll start to lose weight with no other effort.

Switch to once a month perhaps, not three times a week and you'll see the pounds fall away by that one change alone. Cut it back to once every few months and you'll really notice the difference, but a slow, steady change from some of those high calorie/high fat meals can make or break the deal. Trying to simply stop eating your favorites all at once and forever more is doomed to fail so why set yourself up for that disappointment?

What Should I Eat Instead to Lose Weight?

Make an effort to eat less processed food and more whole foods; in other words, eat fresh as often as possible. If you think you don't like fresh foods (ala straight out of the garden) then get back in touch with humanity, man! What if something were to suddenly wipe out all the McDonalds, Burger Kings and Taco Bells? What would you eat then, or would you simply sit on the corner and cry? What if you had to grow your own crops, would you starve? Probably not. You'd likely come to love the taste of a carrot pulled straight from the ground. It's not a punishment to eat wholesome food.

Use the guidelines as a getting started point. Don't get all obsessed with trying to follow them to the letter and don't fall into the trap of being told what you can and can't eat. Just eat what you love but keep your eyes open to what's really going into your mouth and out of your wallet.

USDA Dietary Guidelines 2005

PDF version of USDA Guidelines