Here are some general diet guidelines to help keep your heart healthy
Your diet should include a variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low fat or nonfat dairy products, fish, legumes, lean poultry and meats.

• How many calories?
• General serving guides for women
• Read food labels

How many calories?

Do not eat more calories than your body needs to maintain a healthy weight.

• To lose weight you need to cut back in calories and increase your level of activity.
• One pound equals 3,500 calories.
• A healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. To achieve this you need to reduce your intake by 500 calories per day.
See the chart below to determine your
caloric needs

(Body weight x Activity level = Calories needed to maintain current weight)
*Example: 135 pounds x 12 calories = 1,620 calories/day to maintain weight

Level of Activity	Calories Needed per Pound per Day
Inactive (couch potato)	10
Active (housework, gardening)	12
Very Active (exercise 5 times/week)	14
Extremely Active (trained athlete	16

• Reduce use of saturated fat and cholesterol (animal fats).
• Use limited amounts of unsaturated fat instead. Monounsaturated fat such as olive, and canola, oils & cashews. Polyunsaturated fat such as sunflower, corn, safflower, soybean oils, and walnuts and pecans
• Reduce use of products made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. This includes margarine, cookies, cakes and donuts. Read the ingredients carefully.
• Limit salt, sugars and sweets
• Moderate alcohol consumption
• Eat 3-6 small meals/day
• Eat high fiber foods including fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains

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General serving guides for women

Type	Servings/day	What is a serving
Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta	6,	1 slice of bread, 1/2 bagel, 1oz. dry cereal, 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta
Vegetables	3	1/2 cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables 1 cup raw leafy vegetables 1 medium potato
Fruits	2	1 fist sized piece of fresh fruit, 3/4 cup juice, 1/2 cup canned fruit
Dairy (low fat/nonfat)	2-3	1 cup milk/yogurt, 1-1/2 oz. cheese, 1/2 cup cottage cheese
Meat, Fish, Poultry, Beans, Eggs	2	2-3 oz cooked lean meat - size of a deck of cards 2 Tbsp. peanut butter 1 egg 1/2 cup cooked beans
Fats (mayonnaise, oil, butter)	4	1 tsp.

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Read food labels

Reading the food label can help you choose healthy foods. Here are some tips on how to use labels to choose foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

• Free - This claim means that a food contains no amount (or very small amount) of these nutrients: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar and calories.
• Low - This claim can be used on all foods that can be eaten often without going over the limit for one or more of these nutrients: saturated fat, cholesterol, fat, sodium and calories.
  ♥ "Low-saturated fat": 1 g or less per serving.
  ♥ "Low fat": 3 g or less per serving.
  ♥ "Low-cholesterol": 20 mg or less and 2 g or less saturated fat per serving
  ♥ "Low-sodium": 140 mg or less per serving.
  ♥ "Low-calorie": 40 calories or less per serving.

Other words that mean "low" include: "little," "few," and "low source of."

• Light in sodium. 50% less sodium than regular version.
• Lean and Extra Lean. These claims can be used to describe the saturated fat and fat content of meat, poultry, seafood and game meats.
• Lean: less than 10 g of total fat and 4.5 g or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving.
• Extra lean: less than 5 g of total fat, less than 2 g of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving.

Serving Size
Serving size is also very important. Read the food label to understand the recommended serving size and the number of servings. Here are some easy ways to remember healthy portion sizes:
Your fist = a cup
Your thumb = 1 tablespoon
Your palm = 3 ounces
The tip of your thumb = 1 teaspoon
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