Eating For Health

Once you determine your BMI is in the healthy weight range, how do you stay there? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has some good suggestions. See: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/prevention/index.html . Changing body composition: as we grow older our bodies change whether we want them to or not. We will gain body fat and lose muscle. This shift to more body fat and less muscle slows our metabolism making it even harder it is to maintain a healthy weight. Adding to this, many of us are less physically active as we get older, burning less calories each day which can lead to weight gain. So how can you maintain and not gain? Eat healthy: CDC notes the Dietary Guidelines approach to eating healthy is: Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars Stays within your daily calorie needs 2.  M

One of the dietary recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, is to achieve and keep a healthy weight. First, how does one even know what a healthy weight is? There used to be height/weight tables everywhere so you could easily look up your height and determine a good weight for your height and gender. Now it is a little more complicated as instead of height/weight tables, they have what is called, BMI tables. What is BMI? It stands for Body Mass Index, a newer creation of how much you should weigh for your height. For most people, it is a good indicator of your body fatness. Yes, one can calculate mathematically, BMI=weight (kg)/height (meters 2 ). But the easier way to calculate your BMI is to go online to one of the BMI calculators. Go to CDC.gov and type in BMI and you will get calculators for adults and children. Or go directly to: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/ . You will see on the left the:             Adult BMI Calculator              C