Fit for Duty. . . Fit for Life!    “Fit for Duty. . .Fit for Life!” is a lifestyle-based column provided by USPHS Dietitians/Nutritionists MyPyramid: Interactive Tools You Can Use Submitted by LCDR Amy Beutler, USPHS   Did you know that the MyPyramid Web site contains interactive tools that can help you develop and follow a healthy weight loss plan in four easy steps? MyPyramid is a food guidance system developed in 2005 to help people make healthier dietary choices that meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Web site www.MyPyramid.com has many tools available and can provide a personalized MyPyramid Plan for any person. The overarching themes of MyPyramid are:  Variety - Eat foods from all food groups and subgroups. Proportionality - Eat more of some foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products), and less of others (foods high in saturated or trans fats, added sugars, cholesterol, salt, and alcohol.). Moderation - Choose forms of foods that limit intake of saturated or trans fats, added sugars, cholesterol, salt, and alcohol. Activity - Be physically active every day. Step One: To determine an appropriate eating plan to meet your weight loss goals, start with MyPyramid Plan http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx. To determine your calorie goal, enter your age, gender, height, current weight, and current physical activity level as well as your weight goal (weight loss, weight maintenance, or weight gain). Step Two: Utilize the MyPyramid Menu Planner http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/launchPage.aspx. Meal planning and making healthier choices at the grocery store makes following a healthier diet and spending valuable food dollars wisely during tight economic times much easier. The MyPyramid Menu Planner is fun and useful, “a state-of-the-art self-assessment tool”, according to Ron Post, Acting Executive Director, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), USDA. Simply search and select the foods and beverages you plan to eat for each meal and snack, and the program not only evaluates if the food choices meet or exceed the Dietary Guidelines/MyPyramid recommendations but it also provides the total calories that will be consumed, including the amount from discretionary calories (added sugars, solid fats, oils, and alcohol) and provides a report of recommendations on how to make small changes to add up to healthy results, e.g., replacing a soft pretzel for a snack with low-fat yogurt to decrease refined grains and increase healthy dairy foods. Step Three: Keep a food and activity journal through MyPyramid Tracker to change eating and physical activity habits http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov. Recent research in the area of weight loss has found that self-monitoring is very important in achieving and maintaining successful weight loss. The many reasons why include: Writing down what you eat makes you think more carefully about the foods you are eating. A food journal helps to track additional calories, fats, or carbohydrates in the diet.  It allows you to reflect on foods eaten to help better determine how to make realistic changes to eating habits. It can help you evaluate how well your current intake reflects the guidelines depicted with MyPyramid. MyPyramid Tracker is an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool, which translates the principles of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other nutrition standards developed by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. A Web-site tutorial on MyPyramid Tracker is available at: http://www.mypyramid.gov/tracker/trackertutorial.html. MyPyramid Tracker consists of two areas of assessment: food intake and physical activity. Simply provide a day's worth of dietary information and the online dietary assessment compares the amounts of food eaten to current nutritional guidance and provides information on diet quality, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient information. To give a better understanding of your diet over time, MyPyramid Tracker will track food intake for up to a year. MyPyramid Tracker’s physical activity assessment evaluates physical activity status and provides related energy expenditure information and educational messages. Provide one day's worth of physical activity information and the online physical activity assessment will provide an overall ‘score’ for physical activities that looks at the types and duration of each physical activity completed and compares this score to the physical activity recommendation for health. To give a better understanding of physical activity lifestyle over time, MyPyramid Tracker will provide a score over several days or up to a year. Step Four: Completing a day’s worth of food intake and physical activity, find your Energy Balance Analysis. Energy Balance Analysis calculates Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) based on age, gender, weight, and height reported in your personal profile and physical activity level calculated from your physical activity entry. This tool provides important information about energy balance status and compares food energy intake and calories expended from physical activity to EER, which provides a better understanding of energy balance status and enhances the link between good nutrition and regular physical activity. Through Energy Balance Analysis, energy balance history can be tracked and viewed up to one year. Utilizing the MyPyramid tools in four easy steps will help provide targeted information needed to determine what changes are needed to meet your weight loss goals. For further questions regarding your specific nutrition and health needs, consult with a Registered Dietitian (RD).  More information on how to connect with an RD in your area can be found at http://www.eatright.org. Note: The series “Fit For Duty…Fit for Life!”, is a lifestyle-based column that has been provided by the USPHS Dietitian/Nutritionist PAC (D/N-PAC). Look for “Fit for Duty…Fit for Life!” articles throughout 2009 addressing various issues related to weight management including diet and exercise tips.

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