How do my food choices compare to the daily recommendations of calorie intake?
Do now: Create a list of foods you eat on a typical day (think of what you ate yesterday).
Motivation: Yesterday we discussed the different nutrients and how they help our body produce energy, grow, and carry out life-functions. The food we eat supplies us with the nutrients we need in order to live. Each of us is different in terms of our energy needs. The more we weight, the more active we are, our gender and age all determine how much energy we need, and how much food we should eat. Today we are going to figure out what our calorie needs are, and what types of foods we SHOULD be eating in order to function as BEST we can.
Use the following websites to find out your calorie needs and how many servings of each food group you need. www.mypyramid.gov Click on My Pyramid Plan. Enter your information.
If this website is not responding, use these websites:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_6_1x_Calorie_Calculator.asp
http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm
Write the number of calories and the amounts of each food group in your notebook.
Ask: What will happen if you eat more calories than what you need? (weight gain)
What will happen if you eat less calories than what you need? (possible weight loss, but more likely slow metabolism, lack of energy). Body will be unable to use calories to carry out life functions, so it will conserve every calorie it gets by burning it off slowly.
It is obvious that we need calories for energy, but it is more important that we get the right types of foods in order to function optimally. The food guide pyramid gives us recommendations as to what types of foods we should eat in order to get enough of all of the nutrients and maintain a healthy weight.
Laptop activity: Gathering information
Using www.mypyramid.gov, answer the questions on the task sheet on your table. (Each table has a different food group to study).
1. What foods are in your food group?
2. Why is it important to eat foods from this food group (what are the health benefits?)
3. What nutrients can be found in this food group?
4. What do these nutrients do for the body?
Notes:
The Food Pyramid
Grains (orange)- fiber reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, reduces constipation, help with weight management, reduce blood cholesterol levels; dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium.
Fruits (red)- reduce risk for stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, reduce risk for type 2 diabetes, protect against certain cancers, such as mouth, stomach, and colon-rectum cancer, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and may help to decrease bone loss, helps to lower calorie intake; potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid)
Vegetables (green): Same health benefits as fruits; potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C.
Meat, beans, poultry (purple): building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins.protein, B vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium ** Discuss health implications (saturated fat, cholesterol)
Dairy (blue) help build and maintain bone mass throughout the lifecycle. This may reduce the risk of osteoporosis; Calcium, potassium, vitamin D
Assessment Activity:
Go back to your food log from the do now. Write down which food groups each of your foods is from. Using the Wellness Worksheet, compare your food log to the recommendations you got from MyPyramid Plan.
Summary: Complete questions 3-4 on the wellness worksheet. What changes can you make?