Prevention

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If you have 10 or more pounds to lose, it's probably a sign you've been letting your eating habits get out of control for six months to a year. Of course, it's best to use weight management techniques before you become overweight, to prevent weight gain in the first place.

The federal government issues helpful dietary guidelines, spelling out how much and which food you should eat and how much you should exercise to stay healthy. The guidelines, which are revised every five years (most recently updated in January 2005) are widely used by health care professionals, food makers and educators, and also form the basis of the well-known U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Pyramid (most recently updated in April 2005) used to teach healthy eating habits based on food groups such as grains, vegetables and fats.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend:

1. Addressing the obesity epidemic in the United States by reducing calorie intake and increasing physical exercise

2. Be physically active most days of the week

3. Letting the Food Pyramid (revised April 2005) guide your food choices

4. Eating a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains

5. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables daily

6. Keeping food safe from foodborne illness

7. Choosing beverages and foods that limit intake of sugars

8. Choosing and preparing foods with less salt

9. Drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation

10. Choosing a diet low in saturated fat, trans fatty acids and cholesterol, and moderate in total fat

Specifically, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommends the following (based on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet; to find the amounts that are right for you (exact amounts vary based on your age), visit the Food Pyramid Web site at www.MyPyramid.gov):

Meats and beans (Protein)

• Five-and-a-half ounces of protein every day (vary your choices of meats, poultry, fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds)

Fruits, vegetables and milk

• At least two cups a day of fruit and two-and-a-half cups a day of vegetables

• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day and choose from all of the five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables and other vegetables) several times per week. You may consume fresh, frozen, canned or dried; go light on fruit juices.

• Three cups per day of either fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products such as yogurt and cheese.

Carbohydrates

• Six servings of grains (cereal, breads, crackers, rice or pasta) a day. At least three ounces should be whole grain, and the other three enriched or whole grain. One ounce equals about one slice of bread, one cup of cereal or one-half cup of cooked rice, cereal or pasta.

• Eat fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber and choose whole grains

• Try to avoid adding sugar or sweeteners to foods and beverages

Sodium and Potassium

• Do not consume more than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 teaspoon) of sodium per day

• Use little or no salt when preparing foods

• Eat fruits and vegetables high in potassium such as fruits and vegetables high in potassium such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, bananas and spinach.