Alice Henneman, MS, RD, Extension Educator <ahenneman1@unl.edu>

Spending Your Calorie Salary:
Tips for Using the 2005 Dietary Guidelines

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans place a stronger emphasis on decreasing calorie intake and increasing physical activity than past guidelines.

There are more specific guidelines about the types and amounts of foods to eat.

Greater consumption of nutrient-dense foods -- foods packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients but lower in calories -- is encouraged.

A "discretionary calorie allowance" that allows some flexibility to eat foods and beverages with added fats, added sugars and alcohol is introduced. This allowance may be spent if people eat nutrient-dense foods that let them meet their recommended nutrient intake without using their full calorie allotment.

Think of following the new 2005 Dietary Guidelines as spending your "calorie salary." Plan your calories the same as you might plan a major expense such as a car, house, vacation, etc. For example:

Spending beyond our financial budget leads to consequences, such as losing our house if we can't make the payments.

Too many calories -- as few as 100 extra calories per day -- may lead to a weight gain of about 10 pounds per year!

To be consistent with the Nutrition Facts Panel (see below) on foods, the Guidelines use a 2,000-calorie level as a reference for suggesting amounts to consume from each food category. This amount varies by individual, based on age, gender, activity level and whether you're trying to lose or gain weight.

For more information about understanding and using the Nutrition Facts Label: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html

As a "calorie budget-planning tool," the guidelines provide two examples of sample eating patterns:

• DASH eating plan,
• USDA Food Guide.

The DASH Eating Plan example at the end of this article shows the daily servings (weekly servings for some lower calorie levels) at 1,600-, 2,000-, 2,600-, and 3,100-calorie levels.

2. Choose the most value for your calorie salary.

A great-looking car with bad brakes and a faulty heating/cooling system is no bargain if it wipes out our budget if we buy it and it provides undependable transportation.

Choosing foods that do little to meet nutrient needs -- even if they're within our calorie salary -- can put our health at risk. Four key recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for food groups to encourage are:

1. Consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables while staying within energy needs. Two cups of fruit and 2-1/2 cups of vegetables per day are recommended for a reference 2,000-calorie intake, with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level. (See DASH Eating Plan at the end of this article for other calorie levels.)

2. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. Eat fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit, rather than drinking fruit juice, for most of your fruit choices.
   
   Select from all five vegetable subgroups several times a week. Examples of vegetables from these subgroups include:

   • DARK GREEN VEGETABLES -- Broccoli, spinach, most greens such as spinach, collards, turnip greens, kale, beet and mustard greens, green leaf lettuce, and romaine lettuce

   • ORANGE VEGETABLES -- Carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin

   • LEGUMES (DRY BEANS) -- Dry beans, chickpeas

   • STARCHY VEGETABLES -- Corn, white potatoes, green peas

   • OTHER VEGETABLES -- Tomatoes, cabbage, celery, cucumber, lettuce, onions, peppers, green beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, summer squash

3. Consume 3 or more one-ounce equivalents of whole-grain products per day, with the rest of the recommended grains coming from enriched or whole-grain products. In general, at least half the grains should come from whole grains. Examples of whole-grains commonly consumed in the United States include:
   

Whole wheat Whole oats/oatmeal Whole-grain corn Popcorn Brown rice

Whole rye Whole-grain barley Wild rice Buckwheat Tritacale

Bulgur (cracked wheat) Millet Quinoa Sorghum

4. Consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods and beverages. (Examples of milk and milk equivalents are given in the DASH Eating Plan at the end of the article.)
   
   Children 2 to 8 years of age should consume 2 cups per day and children 9 years of age and older should consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products.

3. Spend on extras after the necessities are purchased.

Buying new and expensive pieces of furniture can be more fun than paying for maintenance and upkeep of your house. But the enjoyment is short-lived if your house deteriorates over time.

Splurging on high-fat and high-sugar foods, while neglecting the basic recommendations, can have the same effect on our bodies. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines call these extras "discretionary calories." They're available "only when the amount of calories used to meet recommended nutrient intakes is less than the total daily calorie expenditures."

Discretionary calories range from 132 calories/1,600 calorie level to 267 calories/2,000 calorie level to as many as 648 calories/3,200 calorie level when following the eating pattern of the USDA Food Guide.

4. Plan a budget that works for you.

Begin where you're at and see how you might fine-tune what you're already eating.

Do a quick analysis of how you are spending your calorie salary by writing down the foods and amounts you eat in a day. Then compare the totals to the DASH Eating Plan at the end of this article. You can either make your own record sheet with these headings at the top, or you can print one off from the DASH Diet Plan at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash

Four possible examples of fine-tuning your calorie salary include:

SITUATION 2: Your combined fruit and vegetable intake is several servings below the recommendations. FINE-TUNE BY: Explore ways of including more servings daily, such as eating double-sized servings, snacking on fruits and vegetables, etc.

SITUATION 3: Less than half of your grain group servings are from whole grains. FINE-TUNE BY: Look for whole-grain alternatives to the grains you're already eating. For example, try a brown rice instead of a white rice. Make your sandwiches with whole grain breads.

SITUATION 4: There's a lack of variety in your vegetables. FINE-TUNE BY: Add extras to salads, such as chopped red or green peppers. Enjoy sweet potatoes as well as white potatoes. Include a package of mixed vegetables when you buy frozen vegetables.

The DASH Eating Plan

(A) Whole grains are recommended for most servings to meet fiber recommendations.

(B) Equals 1/2 to 1-1/4 cups, depending on cereal type. Check the product's Nutrition Facts Label.

(C) Fat content changes serving counts for fats and oils. For example, 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) of regular salad dressing equals 1 serving; 1 Tbsp of a low-fat dressing equals 1/2 serving; 1 Tbsp of a fat-free dressing equals 0 servings.

• www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document
  (see appendix A)
  
• www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/index.htm

Special thanks to . . . I'd like to express my appreciation to my colleague, Linda Boeckner, PhD, RD, University of Nebraska Cooperation Extension Nutrition Specialist, for her help with this month's Food Reflections article.

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